The story of Lily and James
by topofthemuffin
Summary: Lily and James both started their story pre-Hogwarts, during their time at Hogwarts and afterwards. This is the story about how they met, interacted and eventually fell in love. Sticking to the books as best as possible. Parts of the HP books are incorporated into it. JKR owns everthing and I don't intend/want to make money of it.
1. Chapter 1 Early life

James Potter was spoiled as a child. His parents Fleamont and Euphemia were already quite old when they got pregnant with James, even for wizards. They had tried for so long, but it would never bother. Euphemia was heartbroken. She wanted a child so badly that it physically made her ill sometimes. At one point she just gave up after many warnings from the healers in St. Mungo's. She as too old anyway, so why bother with stressing about it. Fleamont was thinking about maybe selling the company, he invented Sleekeazy's Hair Potion. And then in June 1959 Euphemia became nauseous all of the sudden. The signs her body was showing were a bit weird. Both of them already let the idea go of getting pregnant, so when the healer at St. Mungo's told them they were expecting a baby they were both in shock. When the shock went away came the happiness. Euphemia was crying the whole time, she would finally be a mother and as soon as she left St. Mungo's she went shopping for clothing and furniture. Fleamont was immensely proud and announced it very big at his company. Once they knew the gender he had a big banner with the words: "It is a boy!" moving and changing into different colors of blue. All the employees got a big piece of cake with blue frosting. Even though Euphemia was pretty old, the pregnancy went very smooth. And a healthy baby boy was born on the 27th of March, 1960. James Potter was a baby who barely cried, came out with a head full of black hair (which was already messy) and big eyes.

During his youth he got everything he even wanted and even more. His room was big, he got the best clothes and he went to the best schools. His birthday parties were celebrated very big with a lot of family and friends. He got new toys every year, even though his old toys were still good. Fleamont and Euphemia were so proud of their son who was slowly turning into a handsome young man. But times were sometimes tough. There was a growing threat of a dark wizard who wanted to take over the wizarding world with his followers. People disappeared, were found dead in their house and you heard crazy stories on the news about people being tortured. The muggle news had no explanation at all. Muggles who were killed with the Killing Curse showed no signs of homicide or illness. According to the muggles they had a heart attack or it had to be carbon monoxide poisoning. What else could kill a perfectly healthy 14-year old and his 44-year old parents without showing any traces? People were getting more nervous and anxious around others. New people might be dangerous. You had no idea if you could trust them. Fleamont and Euphemia were fighters for muggle rights and this made them targets for this specific dark wizard. Muggles were less worthy than wizards and wizards should not be in hiding. Muggles should be the ones who were hiding and being afraid to be discovered.

His followers were killing, kidnapping and torturing muggles. But even if you were a wizard you not safe. Voldemort and his followers only viewed pureblood wizards with the same standards as their equals. The Potter family was a family of purebloods, but they were a target because they cared about Muggle rights. This was not acceptable in the eyes of Lord Voldemort and his followers. It does not matter if you are a muggle, muggle-born, half-blood or pureblood, if you did not share the same values as Voldemort you were considered as a threat. The Potters thought it was unnecessary that muggles were treated as less. Especially since they were not aware of the fact that wizards exist, they do not have access to magic and they are not a threat. For all these years wizards and muggles lived with each other and sometimes they even got married. James was also raised with this believe. So even with so much money, all the best toys and being a pureblood wizard he grew up with the knowledge that everybody was equal. He was also fully aware of the fact that he was a wizard. James got very frustrated with the fact that he did not had a wand and could not do magic. He ignored his parents arguments that even if his hand wand, he could not do magic outside of Hogwarts until he was seventeen. He started counting down the years, months and days since his 8th birthday that he could finally go to Hogwarts. September 1st 1971 was marked big and red in his calendar.

* * *

In April 1959 there were two very happily surprised happy muggles. Mr. and Mrs. Evans found out that they were pregnant with their second child and it was going to be another girl. They were euphoric. Finally Petunia will have be a big sister. They were not planning to get pregnant again, since Petunia is not even a year old. But this would mean that they were close in age and that they would grow up together. Everyone around them were surprised as well, but also really excited. Petunia was helping Mrs. Evans with picking out clothes, painting the nursery (where she ruined one of her best dresses) and telling everyone how happy she was that she would become a big sister.

Late in the evening on the 29th of January in 1960 Mrs. Evans went into labor. It was a quite a fast labor and early in the morning of the 30th of January Lily J. Evans was born. Lily was not aware of the fact that she had magic in her, since nobody in her family was a wizard or witch. Sometimes she could something unthinkable. She could let flower fly a little bit above her hand, let them grow and sometimes it seemed that owls were attracted to her for some reason. There was always a very pretty brown one outside of her window in the evening and Lily named him Henry. Before she went to sleep every evening she checked if he was there and he was always there. Lily gave him a bowl with water and some crumbs of cookies or bread.

Her youth was careless. She went to the local elementary school and she was very bright. She did not mind doing her homework and she was one of the best students in the class. Petunia was just old enough to be one class above her, but they always hung out during the breaks and after school. They had the same friends and with their little group they always walked home from school. In her class there was also a small boy with black hair. His clothes were too big, he only had old sandwiches and nobody wanted to hang out with him. Lily felt bad for him and one day she decided to sit with him. "Hi, Severus is it, right?" Lily was standing in front of him in her white dress and her red hair in two pigtails. "Eh … yes." The boy looked at her with big eyes. "Can I sit with you?" Lily asked. "Eh … sure, I guess." Severus said. He moved a bit further down the bench to make room for her. He looked very on edge and kept looking at her. "So, how did you do on that spelling test?" Lily asked him, while biting her sandwich. Severus answered: "I did okay, not as well as you though. You are the smartest person in our class." He looked down at his own old sandwich and put it back in his plastic bag with red ears. "Do you want my other half?" Lily asked while offering him the other half of the sandwich. Severus looked at it with big eyes. You saw that he wanted some nice bread, but it was not his. "Please, take it. It is okay! I am not hungry anyway." Severus smiled at her. "Thank you." Severus took the sandwich and took a bite. He closed his eyes when he was chewing. He obviously liked it a lot. "Thank you!" He said again now with his mouth full. Lily smiled. "I will bring one extra tomorrow for you." She closed her eyes and enjoyed the rays of sunlight on her face. Severus heart made a little jump. This pretty girl was being nice to him. Maybe he could make a friend.


	2. Chapter 2 Friends or foes

"Mom, can I have two sandwiches with me today?" Lily asked her mother the following morning. "Sure honey, are you that hungry during the break?" Her mother asked. "This is not for me, it is for a friend at school. He does not have very nice bread. It is old and sometimes there is this white/blue stuff on it." Lily's mother turned around. "Of course I will make you one extra sandwich Lily. Is there something specific that he likes on his bread?" Lily thought for one second. "I will ask him today. I have no idea, but he liked what I had yesterday." Mrs. Evans nodded. She smiled when Lily went to the living room. That is so nice of her daughter that she cared for someone. Lily was a good kid with the heart in the right place.

"Hi Severus, my mom made this for you." Lily handed the sandwich to Severus. "Thank you. They are very nice." He took it with his cheeks turning red. Today he was in a pair of jeans that were way to big. He kept pulling them up. But his white t-shirt and black blouse were big enough to cover his whole behind anyway, so it did not matter. It looked like the clothing were supposed to shrink somehow, but this was unsuccessful. "So where do you live?" Lily asked. "Just around the corner at your house." Severus said this without thinking. He flushed red and added quickly: "I see you running through the street sometimes with your friends and sister." Lily nodded. "But I never saw you outside." Severus looked at his shoes. He was kicking small stones away. "My mom usually wants me home during the day." Lily nodded. "Well, next you see me you can join us if you want." The bel rang and everybody went inside.

That Saturday Lily, Petunia and their friends were playing in the streets of the small village. It was a rather sunny and warm day. At one point Lily saw in the corners of her eyes a small black spot looking at her. She turns around and sees that Severus is watching them. "Ew, why is he looking at us? I do not want him to join." Says one of Lily's friends. But Lily ignores her and waves him over. "Lil, what are you doing? Why are you inviting him?" Hisses one of the girls to her. "Come on guys, he is nice and he does not have anyone to play with." Severus walks shyly towards them. "Hi Severus, do you want to play with us? We can play hide-and-seek!" Severus did see the weird looks in the other girls their eyes but he did not see the same look in Lily's eyes. His stomach turned around when he looked into her green eyes. He did not care about the others. He only wanted to spend time with Lily. He joined the girls with playing hide-and-seek and had one of the best afternoons in his life.

* * *

James was almost ten years old. This meant that he still had more than a year to go before he could finally join Hogwarts. James was playing Quidditch in big yard with the broomstick he got from his father. But it was no fun on his own. All his friends were in school. His parents did not really care if he went or not. He did the first few years, but this school was just dumb. This was nothing that he would use in the real world later on. And with the real world he means the wizarding world. James wanted to learn spells, potion and enjoy the meals at Hogwarts. His parents always told him the best stories about the food. He wanted to see the ghosts and try to make it on the Quidditch team as soon as possible.

His parents still had their old schoolbooks in the attic and sometime she sneaked one of them into his room. He read them at night and tried to absorb all the information. He already read about different potions and different spells. He could not wait until he could finally do them himself. He picked up a few soccer balls and threw them through the hoops. James had to stay low with the broom. Even though this was mainly a village with wizards and witches that was no guarantee that a muggle would not pass through. After another 30 minutes of throwing balls through hoops he climbed of his broom and went back inside to take a shower.

That night at dinner his parents wanted to know what he wanted to do for his birthday. James wanted to invite some friends from the village and wanted to play Quidditch and swim in the pool in their backyard. After that for dinner he wanted a barbeque. His father was the best griller in the neighborhood.

His party was great. His parents gave him great gifts. He got some money, a new CD from the Weird Sisters and some new clothes. His friends were always excited for a James Potter party. The food was amazing and his house was nice with a big yard and a swimming pool. Since his birthday was in May the weather was usually good enough to go swimming. When the evening fell the barbeque was lit and everybody enjoyed hamburgers and sausages. Around 10 everybody said goodbye and James fell asleep very happy.


	3. Chapter 3 Diagon Alley

James woke up very excited. It was the summer before the first of September 1971. Today he would go to Diagon Alley with his parents to buy a wand and everything else that he needed for Hogwarts. James looked at his alarm clock and it was not even 7 in the morning yet. Way too early for leaving already. But he was too excited to go back to sleep now. He guessed that his parents were still asleep and he opened the drawer of his nightstand. He lifted some papers and got one of the old spell books of his father. He looked at it and tried to memorize the different movements and spells.

At 8.30 in the morning his mother came in and said that breakfast was ready. James dressed himself and went downstairs. "Darling, we will leave at ten. So if you still want to take a shower you should do that right after breakfast." James' mother gave her son a kiss on his cheek. "Yes mom!" James said with his mouth full of egg. "Please do not talk with a full mouth." His father said from behind the Daily Prophet. On the front page was an article on how to recognize if people were under the influence of an Imperius Curse. "Are there any more disappearances, honey?" Euphemia asked. Fleamont sighed. "Unfortunately yes. They increase every week I think. The ministry are running around like crazy. They have no idea how to fight this." Euphemia stood behind her husband and put her arms on his shoulder. Fleamont put his hands on her arms and kissed both hands. "We will be fine, honey. Do not worry! We will go with the three of us today and we will only go wherever we need to go." James looked at his parents with big eyes. He wanted to stay the whole day in Diagon Alley, but his mother was scared. He loved his parents very much and he would never want her to worry about him. He swallowed his last bite and said: "I will go quickly shower."

James jumped in and out of the shower. Just a quick freshening up would have to do it for today. He grabbed his backpack and made his bed. A little bit before 10 he came down and saw his parents stand at the fireplace. They would use Floo powder to get to Diagon Alley. It was the fastest way. His father stepped in first and said the destination loud and clearly. The flames became green and he was gone. "Okay honey, it is your turn. I will follow behind you. Please say it loud and clearly! And when you see your father then you step out as well." James rolled his eyes but laughed. "Yes mom, it is not my first time." Euphemia looked at her son. "This is your second. So you have barely any experience. I just do not want that you get lost. It is dangerous enough already." James gave his mother a quick kiss and stepped in to the fireplace. "Do not worry, mom! See you in a minute." He said Diagon Alley, he saw the green flames and the next few seconds he only saw other fireplaces. He slowed down and saw his father. James stepped forward and he stepped into the room where his father was waiting for him.

"Let me dust you off, son." Fleamont began dusting off James' sweater. The flames turned green again and Euphemia stepped out of the fireplace. She gave both her men a quick kiss. "Okay, let us go then! We need to go Gringotts first." They made their way down the street towards the big bank at the end. James never went inside the bank and he was very excited. He had heard crazy stories from his father and friends. Stories about goblins, dragons and booby-traps. Gringotts was one of the safest places in the world, next to Hogwarts of course.

James loved the way down to their vault. His mother seemed nauseous, but she would be alright again. Once outside again they had more than enough money to buy everything. First they went to get a wand. At Ollivanders James had to try five different wands. Eventually the wand that choose him was an eleven inch Mahogany wand. They paid and James was euphoric. He finally had a wand! In less than two months he would be at Hogwarts doing spells with this wand. He just had to control himself now that he would not use it at home. His mother already threatened to lock it up, but he promised her that he can contain himself.

Quickly they did all the next shopping. They got him some new robes, all the books the first year needed and all the extras like a cauldron and ingredients. When they walked pass by the pet shop James asked his father and mother if he could have an owl. They looked at each other and decided that was fine. This one was probably better in shape than the school owls, so they could write each other. James choose a very pretty brown owl, with big yellow eyes. Now he got everything that he needed. They returned to the fireplace and took the Floo powder back home. James was now reading all his books at night to make sure he knew all the new stuff in it.

* * *

On the first of July 1971 the Evans family were visited by a teacher from Hogwarts. The doorbell rang and Mr. Evans opened the door. There was a tall, strict looking woman standing in front of them in some weird clothing. "Hello, my name is Minerva McGonagall and I have an important message regarding the young Miss Lily Evans." Mr. Evans let McGonagall in and called his family. "Hello Lily! My name is professor McGonagall and I am a teacher at Hogwarts. I have something I have to tell you and your family." Lily already knew where this was about. Severus had told her several months ago she was a witch and they would get a visit soon. Lily did not tell anyone, but apparently Petunia listened to her conversation with Severus. Petunia did not tell Lily that she heard what that Snape boy told her. Why was Lily the one with magic powers? She wanted them as well. Lily was always better. She got better grades, all their friends liked her better and all the boys were in love with her and not Petunia.

Probably this was some kind of a mistake. Maybe they forgot about Petunia and they just needed to be reminded. She wrote a letter to the headmaster of Hogwarts, but she had no address. She just gave it to the post office. Little did she know how much luck she had that a witch was working there who could forward it by owl. Petunia still had no answer, but she expected one any day now. So when her father called her down for something she was very excited. But the woman only talked to Lily. McGonagall gave Lily the letter and also everything that she already needed for school, except for a wand. They still had to go there themselves. Petunia walked with professor McGonagall of the door, but only did this because she wanted to ask her about her situation. She looked down at Petunia and smiled politely. "You are not a witch, dear. You are a muggle. Hogwarts is no place for you, so you can stay here in this nice place." These sentences hurt her so much. She cried herself to sleep that night.

Mr. and Mrs. Evans were very much surprised and pleased that one of their children was a witch. Of course they had to get used to the idea, but they always knew that Lily was special. Animals loved her, flowers were always blooming around her when she was extremely happy and sometimes things moved for no reason when she was really upset about something. They read the instructions in the letter carefully. They decided that they would go to London that Friday to buy a wand for Lily. One of the letters carefully explained how to get to Diagon Alley and it stated that Lily had to come with them to find the Leaky Cauldron and to pick out the wand. Petunia was listening to her parents discuss their trip to London behind the closed door. She wanted to come with Lily and her parents to London as well, but she had no idea if her parents would have let her go. She will try to figure this out during dinner.

Petunia was feeling a bit cheerful for the first time in a few days. Her parents were planning all along for her to come with them. Lily was so excited to share this moment with her sister. That Friday morning she was so excited she was already awake at 6 am. She tried to contain herself but at 6.45 am she was unable to stay in bed any longer. She walked quietly to the bathroom and decided to take a shower before everybody else got up. The warm water on her body calmed her down a bit. She was taking her time with washing her hair, her body and drying herself. After that she got dressed and started drying her hair. Her red hair was so thick this took a proper amount of time. When she got out of the bathroom breakfast was already out.

After breakfast everybody grabbed their coats. Mrs. Evans made sure all the letters were safely put away in her bag. And the whole family stepped into the car to drive to London. They parked the car and it was now up to Lily to find the Leaky Cauldron. It was that probably the Evans family must have had something magical in them to see it, but still this was way too difficult to spot. Lily found it easily, since she was a full witch. But Mr. Evans, Mrs. Evans and Petunia would have never found this. They walked in and were looking around carefully. It was a dark bar, where just two people were sitting. They both looked weirdly at the Evans family. Uncomfortable, but brave Mr. Evans stepped forward. "We need to access Diagon Alley. Where is the brick wall?" The barkeeper looked at him for a few seconds before he nodded with his head to the other side of the café. The Evans family quickly moved to the door on the other side. Mrs. Evans pulled the letter out of her bag and tapped with her finger three times on one particular brick. Nothing happened. The Evans' looked at each other with some sheepish look. "Maybe I should try it?" Lily suggested. She tapped the same brick three times. Still nothing happened.

A weird feeling came over Lily. Was this some kind of joke? So far only the café was correct, but what if this was just a stupid joke? Or that this was the right way, but she just had not the ability to get to Diagon Alley. Maybe Lily was not with enough to pull this off. "You folks need a hand?" A harsh voice behind them asked them. It was the bartender. He did not wait for their answer and walked up to the wall. He pulled out his wand and tapped the brick three times. They heard a click and the wall started moving. After a few seconds an entrance appeared and what they saw was amazing. There were so many wizards and witches on the street and everybody was wearing different colors. The shops were in different sizes, some of them were leaning almost diagonally. And that is when it hit Lily with Diagon Alley. Clever, she thought. And funny. She looked at Petunia. Her eyes were big and she was looking at everything. Lily gave her a small push and looked at her. Petunia smiled brightly. Lily gave a deep sigh. Petunia was loving it already. "Thank you, sir. What is the fastest way to get a wand?" Asked Mr. Evans. "Take here a right here and just keep walking for about 5 minutes until you see Ollivanders. But maybe you would want to visit Gringotts first to exchange some money. It is the big white building at the end of the street." He turned around and walked back inside the café.

The Evans family took a right and looked deeply impressed to everything around them. Sometimes they stopped at windows to look. Especially the pet shop was interesting to watch. All the different kind of owls, cats and other animals. First they exchanged some money into Galleons, Sickles and Knuts. The Evans family were impressed and a bit scared with the employees of Gringotts. When they had some money they left go purchase a wand. When they found Ollivanders they went inside. Choosing a wand was a spectacular experience. She got to try different ones and every time she gave a swoop something happened. Lily was getting more and more excited to go to Hogwarts. Eventually the wand that choose her was a 10¼ inch, made of willow. "This one will do exceed in Charms, Miss Evans." Ollivander told them. Petunia wanted to ask if she could try some wants as well, but she was scared. What if the old man told her the same as that professor? So she kept her mouth shut and hoped that she maybe could borrow Lily's sometimes.

The family returned to their car and made their way back home. Along the way they stopped for some food. "Are you excited to go to this school, honey?" Mrs. Evans asked Lily. "Very mom! It is still a bit weird that I am a witch, but after today I am really curious what I can do." Mr. Evans gave her a pet over her head.


	4. Chapter 4 Kings Cross Station

James woke up with excitement. It was a surprise that he slept at all. Today was September first, he would finally go to Hogwarts. He jumped out of bed and put on his jeans and a shirt. The weather forecast was positive, so he put his jacket in his backpack. His put the last things in his trunk and carried it down the stairs. His parents were already dressed eating their breakfast. "Good morning, honey. How did you sleep?" Euphemia gave her son a kiss on his head. "Good mom! How are we going to London?" Fleamont put his newspaper down and answered: "We will take the car, son. It will be the most convenient way with your trunk." James nodded. "Darling, how do you want your eggs?" Euphemia wanted to pamper her little James before he left for Hogwarts. "The usual, mum." She ruffled his hair and smiled. He was growing up so fast. She saw that he would be very handsome, just like his father.

It was approximately an hour drive to London. They left at 09.30 am, so they would have enough time. There was hardly any traffic on the road, so at exactly 10.30 they arrived at Kings Cross Station. Fleamont parked the car and got James' trunk out of the car. Euphemia came back with a cart. James pushed the cart and recognized other wizard families as well. Some of them looked lost, especially around the platforms 9 and 10. The Potters stopped sometimes when they were sure that someone was looking for Platform 9¾. They saw a family with two little girls and one of them was pushing the cart with a similar trunk that James had. It was a red-headed girl, who looked anxious but excited. Fleamont said to the parents: "You can just look at us how we do it, but make sure that no one will notice you." Relieved that someone would help them they did not ask any questions. Even though you could see that they had no idea what Fleamont meant. "Okay, James honey. We will go through together and your dad will follow us." Euphemia grabbed James by his arm and casually walked towards the wall. James felt scared for one second, but he remembered what his parents told him about not crashing into it. And indeed, he slid with ease through and his heart skipped a beat. There it was, steaming and ready to go. The big, red Hogwarts Express.

James could hardly contain his excitement and bumped into a boy about his age. "Oi, watch out where you are going mate!" The boy crawled back up. "James!" Euphemia said a little bit pissed. "Sorry mate, I was goggling the train." The boy laughed. "It is okay, I am excited as well. I was running. Hi, I am Sirius." And he stretched his hand out towards James. "I am James! And this is my mother." Euphemia smiled. "And where are your parents, Sirius?" She asked friendly. He shrugged his shoulders. "Somewhere over there talking with some people." He did not look Euphemia in the eye. He looked a bit ashamed. At that moment Fleamont glided through the wall with the father and the sister of the red-headed girl. "Ah, here you are honey. We had to wait, so many muggles were passing. James, why are you still here? You should go and find yourself a carriage. You only have 10 minutes left." James startled. "Do you want to sit with me? I already put my trunk in a carriage, I will show you." Sirius said. "That would be cool!" James followed him. In the corner of his eyes he saw the read-headed girl sliding through the wall with her mother. She looked with big eyes to the train. James kept staring at her before Sirius yelled his name. "Oi, James! Come one, man!" He followed Sirius and put his trunk in the compartment. He walked back outside to say goodbye to his parents. "Bye mum, bye dad. I will write you when I get there." He hugged his father goodbye, kissed his mother on her cheek and jumped in the train. The whistle blew, the doors closed and the train started moving. Finally he was on his way to Hogwarts and he might have already made a friend.

* * *

Lily had mixed feelings leaving for Hogwarts. She was really excited to explore the witch inside of her, but Petunia made it pretty clear that she was upset with Lily. During the summer she talked with Severus about it. He said that it was probably because she was jealous, but Lily was not sure about this. She and Petunia always got along great and it felt not right leaving for such a long time without making up. Lily had so many questions about the wizarding world and she knew that Severus knew more. So the past couple of weeks they had spent almost every day together and she was bombarding him with questions. He patiently answered every one of them if he could. At one point at Lily's house Severus found an envelope with the Hogwarts stamp addressed to Petunia. He was shocked that she would contact Hogwarts and that she even got a reply. He wanted to read the letter, but Lily stopped him at first. But after he explained to her that this was extremely unusual she was curious. They both read the letter. It was a rejection, but in a very polite way. "She asked professor Dumbledore to let her go to Hogwarts? Wow!" Severus was impressed. Lily grabbed the letter, stuffed it back into the envelope and hid it. "Let's go and play." She said.

Petunia hardly looked at Lily the whole summer. All the other friends Lily had were also ignoring her. Sometimes she had the feeling one of them wanted to say something, but they always turned around. She felt lonely, but she still had Severus. And the first of September was rapidly coming closer. On the morning that she was finally going to Hogwarts she felt a twitch in her stomach. But the memory of her fight last night with Petunia gave her a shallow feeling. She did not want to join any more to say goodbye to Lily in London. Her parents made her go in the end, but it felt wrong that Petunia was not going at her own free will. It was almost like she did not want to have anything to do anymore with Lily. Lily shrugged this fought out of her head. Today she had to focus on getting herself on the train. Severus explained it to her, but it all sounded so vague to her. A small wall, where she needed to walk through. Leave it to the wizards to do something like that, she thought.

They went by car to London and at 09.15 they were already at Kings Cross Station. Her parents were going to grab a cart and Lily was alone with Petunia. "Where is your weird friend?" Petunia taunted Lily. "Maybe all of this is a joke. That would be a shame though. Since that would mean that you would not leave to that school of yours." She turned around and left Lily astonished. This was the most Petunia had said to her in the last few weeks, but this was also the meanest she ever had been to Lily. Her parents returned and Lily did not want to spoil their last moments together, so she acted brave and happy. Although it felt like somebody had just kicked her in her stomach.

"Platform 9¾… Platform 9¾…" Lily her parents were searching for it and the wall she needed to go through. Lily wished at this very moment that she had Severus with her. He would know what to do. But he was already in London since yesterday and was probably already on the train. After searching for 15 minutes another family emerged on the same platform. The boy had black hair and glasses and a similar trunk. His parents walked up to Mr. and Mrs. Evans and talked about getting onto the Platform. "You can just look at us how we do it, but make sure that no one will notice you." Said the man. She looked at the boy and his mother who were walking casually to the wall. And just like that they disappeared. Lily had not blinked with her eyes, scared to miss the moment, but she could have. "We will go next and take your other daughter with you." They had to wait for a solid five minutes before the coast was clear. And then Lily saw her father, Petunia and the man slide through the wall. She swallowed. Now it was her turn. Her mother smiled at her. "I will be right next to you honey, there is no need to be scared." They walked steadily towards the wall and Lily demanded herself to keep walking. They would crash, for sure. Only a few steps away and then she would feel the bricks against her cart. But this did not happen. She walked right through the wall and her jaw dropped.

The platform was full with wizards, witches and animals. Cats, owls, toads and everything. People were saying goodbye crying or laughing. The train was red, big and the steam was already coming out. She saw that the boy who helped them was walking away but looking at her. His name was called by another boy and he followed him. James, she had to remember that. Severus promised to keep a spot for her in a compartment, so she turned around to say goodbye to her family. And suddenly a pit in her stomach appeared. Her parents were busy with talking James' parents and thanking them. Petunia was googling at everything with big eyes. Maybe she would be nicer now. "I see your weirdo found you already." Petunia sniggered. Lily turned around. She saw Severus with his mother. "Tuney, please. I will be gone for a while, let us not fight." Petunia looked at her. "He hurt me you know and I was scared. And you are capable of hurting me as well. And now you leave me behind and go to that school and learn all that stuff. I just wished… Petunia's voice slowly ebbed away. Lily looked at her sister. She knew what she wanted to say. Lily wanted her to join as well. "He never meant to hurt you and I would never do that to you, or anyone! I am sorry! Listen …" She caught her sister's hand and held tight to it, even though Petunia tried to pull away. "Maybe once I am there … no, listen, Tuney! Maybe once I am there, I will be able to go Professor Dumbledore and persuade him to change his mind!" "I don't – want – to – go!" said Petunia, and she dragged her hand back out of her sister's grasp. "You think I want to go to some stupid castle and learn to be a – a…"Her pale eyes roved over the platform, over the cats mewling in their owners' arms, over the owls, fluttering and hooting at each other in cages, over the students, some already in their long black robes, loading trunks onto the scarlet steam engine or else greeting one another with glad cries after a summer apart. " – you think I want to be a – a freak?" Lily's eyes filled with tears as Petunia succeeded in tugging her hand away. "I'm not a freak," said Lily. "That's a horrible thing to say." "That's where you're going," said Petunia with relish. "A special school for freaks. You and that Snape boy…weirdos, that's what you two are. It's good you're being separated from normal people. It's for our safety." Lily glanced toward her parents, who were looking around the platform with an air of wholehearted enjoyment, drinking in the scene. Then she looked back at her sister, and her voice was low and fierce.

"You didn't think it was such a freak's school when you wrote to the headmaster and begged him to take you." Petunia turned scarlet. "Beg? I didn't beg!" "I saw his reply. It was very kind." "You shouldn't have read …" whispered Petunia, "that was my private – how could you …?" Lily gave herself away by half-glancing toward where Snape stood nearby. Petunia gasped. "That boy found it! You and that boy have been sneaking in my room!" "No – not sneaking…" Now Lily was on the defense. "Severus saw the envelope, and he couldn't believe a Muggle could have contacted Hogwarts, that's all! He says there must be wizards working undercover in the postal service who take care of …" "Apparently wizards poke their noses in everywhere!" said Petunia, now as pale as she had been flushed. "Freak!" she spat at her sister, and she flounced off to where her parents stood.

 **Authors note: My first few reviews just came in! Amazing guys, thank you! If you see some grammar of spelling mistakes, please let me know. English is not my native language and sometimes your best isn't enough ;p. Keep reviewing them and favorite and follow if you like my story of course!**

 **I love writing from both their perspectives, but it quite hard sometimes. I know James appeared to be arrogant and a bit lacking with schoolwork, but he is also a very honest and good person with a kind heart. And Lily is this very sweet girl, who is smart and a bit of a feminist in my opinion. But she can also be very cold and mean if you cross her. I try to keep everything in mind and how I see these characters. I think with time the story will only get better once I get to know them and what I decide to do.**

 **I check Harry Potter Wikipedia so often because I want to stay as close to the original story as I can. But of course this is how I see things and how I think people where. For example I think Lily was not in love with Snape, she had kind of sister feelings for him. But there is of course an opportunity that Remus or Peter might have had a crush on Lily for example one point during their time at Hogwarts. I will see where the story goes and if it works or not, so sometimes it might be different from what you would expect or write.**

 **But thank you so much for these first reviews! Keep them coming! SB-Potterhead Budgie lover, AlishaVane45 and the guests reviewers!**


	5. Chapter 5 The Hogwarts Express

Sirius was cheeky, smart and a rascal. James always liked a good prank and got in some trouble at home for this. He and Sirius kind of had the same mind when thinking about doing stuff. They were already planning some first pranks for teachers, depending on how strict they might be. But first they had to see the teachers. The red-headed girl had accompanied them in their compartment and James helped her getting her trunk in the overhead compartment. "Thank you!" She smiled at him, but the smile did not meet her eyes. And those eyes James noticed. They were emerald green, looking at James as though she could see through his soul. They were beautiful. She sat down next to James, sighed and looked out the window to the moving landscape. Her back was towards James. He wanted to ask her name, but Sirius punched him to get his attention. He turned around and started talking with Sirius. Soon they were accompanied with a few other boys. A tall, skinny boy named Remus Lupin, a small, fatter boy named Peter Pettigrew and some others. The compartment slit open again and a tall, skinny and pale looking boy was standing in the doorway. He was already in his Hogwarts robes. His eyes fixed on the girl with the red hair and he took the place across of her, ignoring the others. James did not pay much attention to it. Apparently they knew each other since the girl smiled at him. After a few sentences James attention was being caught by something that the skinny, pale looking boy said.

"I don't want to talk to you," she said in a constricted voice. "Why not?" "Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore." "So what?" She threw him a look of deep dislike. "So she's my sister!" "She's only a …" He caught himself quickly; Lily, too busy trying to wipe her eyes without being noticed, did not hear him. "But we're going!" he said, unable to suppress the exhilaration in his voice. "This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!" She nodded, mopping her eyes, but in spite of herself, she half smiled.

"You better be in Slytherin," said Snape, encouraged that she had brightened a little. "Slytherin?" James had shown no interest at all in Lily or Snape until that point, but now looked around at the word. The difference between James and Severus was big. James was slight, black-haired like Snape, but with that indefinable air of having been well-cared-for, even adored, that Snape so conspicuously lacked. "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I would leave, would you not?" James asked Sirius lounging on the seats opposite him. But Sirius did not smile. "My whole family have been in Slytherin," he said. "Blimey," said James, "and I thought you seemed all right!" Sirius grinned. "Maybe I will break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you have got the choice?" James lifted an invisible sword. "'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!' Like my dad." Snape made a small, disparaging noise. James turned on him. "Got a problem with that?" "No," said Snape, though his slight sneer said otherwise. "If you would rather be brawny than brainy." "Where are you hoping to go, seeing as you are neither?" interjected Sirius. James roared with laughter. Lily sat up, rather flushed, and looked from James to Sirius in dislike. "Come on, Severus, let us find another compartment." "Oooooo…" James and Sirius imitated her lofty voice; James tried to trip Snape as he passed. "See ya, Snivellus!" a voice called, as the compartment door slammed.

* * *

They soon forgot about the two. When the lunch lady appeared they bought a lot of candy and the compartment was filled with roaring laughter. When they night fell they changed into their robes and stuffed the leftovers in their pockets. At one point they saw Hogwarts getting closer. "There we are, mate. This will be our home for the upcoming years." Sirius stood next to James as they both watched the castle coming closer.

Lily and Severus had found another compartment and moved their trunks with them. "Do not listen to them, Severus. They are just annoying and stupid!" Lily said to Severus. "I am used to it now, Lily. Nothing I have not heard before." Lily felt bad for Severus. He has always been a good friend for her. She did not understand why people would bully someone just by the way they look. It was not Sev his fault that his parents do not have a lot of money. Her parents were not rich either, but at least they had money to buy her nice clothes and provide her with enough food. Usually she would start getting allowance when she would turn twelve, but this had to change now. She could not leave to Hogwarts with at least some pocket money. Her parents gave her some money to get through this year.

There were a couple of four girls probably first years as well in this compartment. "Hi, could we maybe join you guys in here?" Lily asked. They nodded. "Are you starting at Hogwarts as well?" One of the girls asked. Lily nodded. "My name is Lily Evans and this Severus Snape." The girls all smiled. "Hi, I am Mary McDonald and these are Alice Pescus and Marlene McKinnon. We just met here on the train." Severus looked a bit taken back. Lily grabbed him by his sleeve and dragged him to the couch. Soon they were engaged in conversations about themselves and their expectations of Hogwarts. Mary and Marlene already had siblings at Hogwarts. Alice was an only child, but she came from a pureblood family. She already heard many stories about Hogwarts from her family. The more Lily heard from the others, the more exited she became. This was going to be great! At one point she had to ask: "So, how much magic do you already know? Nobody in my family is a wizard or a witch, so I have zero experience. There is a big chance I will be worst in our class, maybe even in our year." "That is rubbish!" Mary said. Lily looked at her with big eyes. She was not used to someone being that blunt. "Do no mind her. She says what is on her mind." Marlene said. Lily smiled, feeling a little bit better now that it was not personal. "Well, why is it rubbish then?" "Because even if you grew up in a wizard family, you are not allowed to do magic. I never touched a want and performed a spell. Probably we will have more knowledge about the magical way of living, but not of anything else. You will be fine!"

Lily felt relieved. Severus would never answer her questions about his home and magic there. Lily knew that there was trouble there and money was tight. His parents would fight a lot, yelling at each other. She felt bad for him, he did not deserve this. That was why he was so happy to finally go to Hogwarts. He hated it back home and now he was gone for 10 months. She was just excited that she would be able to discover her abilities, making new friends. Lily would still miss her family, but she could return in the holidays if she wanted. But after that fight with Tuney she was not sure if she wanted to anymore. Maybe some time apart would be for the best.

At one point an old lady showed up with a trolley full of candy and food that Lily had never seen before. "This is mainly what I was talking about, you see. I grew up with this." Mary explained her. "But I doubt that we will use them as ingredients for our potions." Lily laughed out loud. She liked these three girls already. Lily bought some candy with the advice from Mary and Marlene. Alice and Severus were engaged in a good talk about something with plants and their expectations about the lessons. The afternoon flew by and when the evening fell, they changed into their robes. At one point Alice gasped and said loudly: "Guys, you can see the castle! It is beautiful!" Everybody hurried to the windows and pressed their nose to the glass. Lily was amazed. The castle was lit and in contrast to the dark sky it was beautiful. After another 15 minutes the train came to a halt and they slowly made their way out. There was a big man waiting for them, his hair bushy just like his beard. "First years, come with me!" He shouted. Lily, Severus, Amy, Marlene and Alice walked towards him and after he counted the heads they walked towards a stairs. They descended the stairs and after the last curve Lily saw small sloops waiting for them. "Make groups of four and step into a sloop." Lily and Severus stepped into one and were accompanied by Mary and Alice. Marlene was in the boat next to them. Everybody was in awe of the castle and how impressive it was now that they were this close. After a 15 minutes they arrived at a small harbor and everybody left the sloops and followed the big man up the stairs. They arrived at the doors and a strict looking witch was waiting for them. Lily recognized her, it was professor McGonagall. "Good evening, first years. My name is professor McGonagall and I am a teacher here at Hogwarts as well. I teach Transfiguration. Also I am head of the Gryffindor House. Shortly I will bring you to the Great Hall where we will enjoy our start of the year feast, but you cannot eat yet. You will have to be sorted into a House here and the Sorting Ceremony will happen first. After that you will enjoy the feast at the table of your House, just like every meal of everyday for the rest of the year. Tomorrow at breakfast the class schedules will be distributed. After dinner you will be escorted by the prefects to your common room, so just wait for them to call you after dinner. Now please follow me." She turned around and started walking. Lily had to process all of this. A Sorting Ceremony? Did they already expect her to perform spells? Or was it some kind of test they had to do? Lily was getting nervous and knots appeared in her stomach.

 **Authors note: Just like the last chapter I used the parts from the books. This is of course Queen Rowling's work and not mine. I do not intent to make money of this, this is pure for the story. All characters and everything else belongs to her. But it helps me write the story, it is something you readers will recognize and it so well-written. Way better then I probably ever could, but it is good to have her standards to try and live up too!**

 **And yes, they finally arrived at Hogwarts! I thought four chapters about their lives before Hogwarts would be nice. A little bit about their youth and how I imagined it. But now James and Lily are at the same school and starting to get to know each other. I will stick to the true story, so they will not fall in love with each other until the last year. James develops a crush on Lily in his fifth year, but I think he kind of noticed her already before. He was just too young to understand that he was starting to like her. The same goes maybe for Severus. He is definitely in love with Lily already, but he does not know it quite yet. He is a bit too young to understand his feelings. But I think in their second and/or third year this should become quite clear.**


	6. Chapter 6 The Sorting Ceremony

James was beaming. His pockets were stuffed with candy and he was excited to finally be sorted. There was a big chance that he would be in Gryffindor since his dad was in Gryffindor, but that was no guarantee. Ravenclaw would fine as well. Even Hufflepuff would be fine, as long as it was not Slytherin. Some dark wizards and witches were coming from that House. His dad told him that all those terrible things would happen mainly because of them. The torturing, the killing for fun, scaring people with threats and kidnapping them. He was standing next to Sirius. "Are you ready, mate?" He asked. Sirius grinned at him. "I am more than ready to break the Slytherin tradition!" In front of them they heard some weak noise, but as soon as the two big doors opened it became louder. They entered the Great Hall and everybody was looking at them. The professor directed them between the four tables and gestured them to stop. She climbed the few steps towards a stool with a filthy, old looking hat. "We will start the Sorting Ceremony now. When I call out your name you will walk up to me, sit down on the stool and place the Sorting Hat on your head. He will decide in which House you belong for the rest of your school life here. You will take place at that table, you will eat at that table and you will present that House as well during your time here at school. Good behavior will reward your House with points and for bad behavior points will be deducted. The House with the highest amount of points will win the House Cup at the end of the schoolyear. And now, without any further ado, we will start the Ceremony." She stepped out of the way of the hat. The hat started singing and a few first years gave a small scream of surprise. James took this opportunity to discuss the first impressions of the teachers with Sirius.

"What do you think of her? She seems very strict. She looks like she needs a good prank." James whispered to Sirius with his gaze on professor McGonagall. "I think you are right. Maybe we can make that stick in her butt disappear." James snorted. "There is that big bloke that brought us to the castle. Do you reckon he teaches anything?" Sirius looked at him with squinted eyes. "Nah, I guess he is maybe the gamekeeper. Look at his clothes and his hands. But how about that small man over there? I have the feeling we will have the upper hand in his class. He does not appear as an authority figure." James looked at the small wizard. "I do not know. I think this could be difficult with him. But for all we know we will not even have any classes from him. A few classes we will not have until later." Just when Sirius wanted to reply the Hat stopped singing and everybody applauded. It was time to start the Sorting Ceremony. Professor McGonagall stepped forward again, now with a roll of parchment in her hand. "Let us start the Sorting Ceremony. I will now call the first name. Adrian, Peter." The boy had to walk from behind and almost tripped over someone's robe. He took place on the chair and placed the hat on his head. It was thinking and after 30 seconds it yelled: "RAVENCLAW!" The table on the right of James started cheering and welcomed Peter Adrian warmly. He sat down and looked happy that it was over. "Aubrey, Bertam." A small, but chubby boy stumbled forwards with his ears red. But when he turned around to face the crowd his eyes look determined. He looked to the right to the table of Slytherin and his mouth twitched a little. It was obvious he wanted to go there. And indeed, as soon as the Hat touched his head it yelled: "SLYTHERIN!" James rolled his eyes. "I am soon, since my last name is Black." Sirius whispered. He was not wrong since he was the fourth one to be sorted, just behind a boy with the name Avery. The Hat thought for a few seconds but then it was certain: "Gryffindor!" Sirius pumped his fist into the air and hurried off to the table to left. He gave James a thumbs up.

James watch the upcoming students with interest. Margareta Catchlove was sorted into Hufflepuff. Caradoc Dearborn into Ravenclaw. The next name was called: "Evans, Lily!" And he saw that it was the girl with the flaming red hair and the piercing green eyes. Lily Evans took place on the stool and she put on the Hat. Her face flushed. After a minute or so the Hat finally made a decision: "GRYFFINDOR!" She looked relieved and jumped of the stool, gave the Hat back and made her way down to her left. Sirius was cheering, just like the rest of the table. She sat down on the opposite of Sirius and shyly looked down. The next few names went fairly quick. Benjy Fenwick was sorted into Ravenclaw and Frank Longbottom in Gryffindor. Remus Lupin was up next and James was rooting for him. He liked him, even though he looked older for his age. Maybe it was because he was fairly tall. James was a little bit above average right now, but Remus was taller. Remus put on the Hat with shaky hands. "GRYFFINDOR!" Remus smiled and sat down next to Lily who he gave a hand. She smiled brightly at him. The next two names, Mary McDonald and Marlene McKinnon were also sorted into Gryffindor. They high fived each other and both hugged Lily. Dorcas Meadows was sorted in to Ravenclaw. Someone named Mulciber, a big and evil looking bloke who missed one of his front teeth, was sorted into Slytherin. Alice Pescus was sorted into Gryffindor and took her seat next to Frank Longbottom. After that it was Peter his turn. He stumbled towards the stool and put the Hat on his head. A minute passed away, another minute as well and Peter was just sitting there. He started to sweat. After more than five minutes the Hat finally yelled: "GRYFFINDOR!" Peter hurried to table and almost forgot to put the Hat back. The Great Hall roared with laughter when the small boy quickly returned the Hat. James was sure it was his turn now. Was there still place in Gryffindor? There were now four boys and four girls. Did this mean that Gryffindor was maybe already full?

Lily was now watching the rest of the Sorting Ceremony from her spot at the Gryffindor table. She felt relieved now. There was no magic yet, no test. Lily did not know much yet about the different houses. She only knew that Severus was sure he would end up in Slytherin. He looked sad when Lily got sorted into Gryffindor. First she was disappointed, since she knew nobody yet. But as soon as the girls from the train joined her she was excited! Mary and Marlene hugged her and now they were rooting for Alice to join them and luckily this happened. Now it was the turn of the boy who Lily had no idea what his game was. His parents seemed like decent people. They helped others without knowing them, just because they looked like they were in need of help. But why was he so nasty towards Severus? They did not know him. Was this just because he wanted to get in to Slytherin? Well, he wanted to be sorted in Gryffindor badly and now Lily kind of hoped he would not. Just because he seemed like a guy that would get anything he wanted anyway. Professor McGonagall called out his name now: "Potter, James!" He walked with confidence to the stool and sat down.

He barely had to put the Hat on his head and it already yelled: "GRYFFINDOR!" James was beaming. He walked to the table and set himself down next to Peter. Now Lily was only interested in Severus. She kept watching and sometimes she noticed who was being sorted into what house. Evan Rosier was sorted into Slytherin. And then she heard the name she was waiting for. "Snape, Severus!" She saw that Severus looked at her when she sat down and she smiled. He smiled back and a longing look came into his eyes. Maybe he was hoping now he would be sorted into Gryffindor. She knew he did not know anybody in Slytherin. But as soon as the Hat touched his head it was clear that he belonged in the House he always spoke about. "SLYTHERIN!" He cast a side glance to Lily and then walked to the other side of the Great Hall to join the Slytherin table. Colin Stebbins was sorted into Ravenclaw and after a big bloke named Wilkes was sorted into Slytherin the Sorting Ceremony was over.

* * *

This was the moment that the Headmaster rose from his chair. Everybody stopped with talking all at once. Lily could feel that this was a powerful wizard and that everybody had a deep respect for him, even the teachers. "Welcome back students and welcome new students. Another year at Hogwarts and we are all more than ready to let you enjoy classes full with wisdom. We are more than ready to expand your horizon. We hope that you are ready to meet new people and have an open mind. The older students already know this, but I need to say this again for the new students. Nobody is allowed in the Forbidden Forest, visits to Hogsmeade are only for students in their third year or higher when they have permission. If you want to try out for your Quidditch House team please contact the Head of the House. But again, this is not for the first years. I think we now had enough do and do nots, so just let us enjoy the feast for now." He raised his hands and all kind of food appeared on the table. Lily her eyes went big. Everything you could imagine was in front of her. She got some food on her plate and started talking with Remus who was sitting next to her. At one point the food disappeared and the desserts came in their place. Lily felt full, but it all looked so good. She helped herself to some pie and enjoyed the warm fuzzy feeling that came over her. She slowly became tired. The deserts disappeared professor Dumbledore stood up again. "I hope you all enjoyed the feast. Classes will start tomorrow, so have a good rest. First years, please follow the prefects of your House. They will be calling you soon. For now I wish you all a good night rest and very good first week." Lily heard a voice calling for the first years and she stood up and walked towards the guy and the girl. "We will show you how to get to the tower of Gryffindor and we will tell you the password for the entrance. Please remember it and when it changes we will tell you as well. If you have any issues with someone, a subject or it is just anything else you can always come up to one of us. Now please follow closely." Lily walked next to Alice who was gushing about Frank. "He is so nice, Lily. And so funny!" Lily smiled. "That is great, Alice! That is really good. It sounds like you like him a lot." Alice started blushing. "I just met him. We will see."

They walked towards a big painting of a chubby lady. "Okay, so this is the Fat Lady." She coughed. "Ignore her, it is the name of her painting. She is covering the entrance and will only let you in when you know the right password. The password for now is Horntail." The portrait swung open and they climbed through the passage. "This is the common room of Gryffindor. You will spend your free time here and also all the news will be on this board. First year boy dormitories are up this stairs and for the girls it is these stairs. Your stuff is already at your bed. Sleep tight." Lily made her way up with Alice, Mary and Marlene. They chatted a bit, changed into their pajamas and went to bed. "Good night girls. I am happy we are together with the four of us!" Said Marlene. "Same!" Said the other three.

 **A smaller part from Lily's perspective, sorry guys. Barely had any inspiration and it was quite hard to write this. She is new to all of this and now that it is done and ready I of course have loads of inspiration. But I will use it for the upcoming chapters! Please review, favorite and/or follow!**

 **I am such a Jily shipper and I wished they were lovers from the start. That would have given them more time together, since they had so little. But of course, that makes their story so great. They were taken away way too young and they had so much more to give in their lives. So I might write a bit about Alice and Frank (Yes, Neville's parents) that it was first at love sight with them. But again, they were so young. Did you know what love felt like when you were 11, 12 or 13? I found/find it quite hard to write about it. I try to go back to the mindset of myself in that age, but it is quite difficult.**

 **The upcoming chapters will be longer! These are way too short I think.**


	7. Chapter 7 The first months before X-mas

James loved his first few weeks at Hogwarts. The classes were interesting, but he was usually busier with Sirius, Remus and Peter and their mischiefs. Mostly it were James and Sirius who invented the pranks and also did them. Remus was a bit scared and wanted to pay attention during the classes and Peter was mostly just scared, but wanted to join in the end anyway. Already alone in their first month both James and Sirius had every weekend detention with several teachers. Especially McGonagall proved to be very strict and tough. This was quite a surprise, since she was the head of Gryffindor. Not only did she gave them detention, but she also deducted points. And it was quite hard to receive points from her, so Gryffindor was fourth at this moment, just behind Hufflepuff. But James and Sirius did not care about points that much. Remus and Lily were getting those points back anyway in several classes with their answers and demonstrations.

It was close to Halloween and James, Sirius and Peter were talking in the common room. "Do you guys have any idea where Remus is going again?" Sirius asked him, while he kicked his feet nonchalant on the table. Peter quickly grabbed his bag before Sirius his feet hit it. "Oops, sorry Peter." Said Sirius. "Nah, it is okay!" Peter said quickly. "But I have no idea. He just says it is a family emergency and nothing else about it." James loosened his tie. "Yeah, I am curious as well. This is the second time now in two months. Last time I did not think anything about it, people can get sick. But this is quite soon after that he left again. We should ask him when he is back." Sirius nodded and closed his eyes. "I am so tired! I do not want to do homework, I just want to relax." James snorted. "You do nothing but relax, mate." Sirius smiled. "Oi, same goes for you. But okay, let us do this." He grabbed his bag. "Should we start with Transfiguration or Herbology?" Peter quickly answered "Transfiguration! James is one of the best." James grinned. "Thanks, Peter. Let me know when you need help." James grabbed some parchment, his quill, ink and his book. "What did that old bat ask again? How many words?" "3000 before the day after tomorrow." Peter said. "I just hope that Remus will be back on time to do this."

On the morning of Halloween James woke up. Tonight they had a party in the common room, after the feast. Some older years showed James and Sirius the other day where the kitchen was and how to get food. The house elves were quite nice and were okay with them taking extra food and drinks. One of the older years even said he could get some fire whiskey and butterbeer. Remus was also back again, but he looked exhausted. He did not say much about who was sick and what he had to do, but whatever it was it had drained him. He even looked tired. "You sure you are up for a party tonight, mate?" James asked him at lunch. Remus usually paid attention in every class, but in the last one he almost fell asleep. This was nothing like him. "Yeah, yeah… I will be fine." He ate some more bread and drank some orange juice. James looked at Sirius and they exchanged looks. Remus stood up, swung his back over his shoulder and said: "I will quickly visit the library before our next class. See you in twenty." And he left without waiting for their answer. "Should we go after him?" Peter asked. "Nah, I say we let him. Maybe he will talk tonight after some fire whiskey." James laughed. "Should we go as well? I need to go to the loo." Sirius said. And the three of them stood up and left.

That evening the four of them left the feast earlier, right after the last course appeared. Remus and Peter went up to decorate the common room. James and Sirius went down to the kitchen and asked for food. They levitated the trays with _wingardium leviosa_. One of the first spells they had learned in the first few months at Hogwarts. They tried to sneak it upstairs and not run into any teachers. Which they accomplished because they left when people were still eating. The portrait swung open and the plates levitated into the common room. They were put on the table effortlessly. James and Sirius high fived. Remus and Peter did a great job at decorating. They charmed the fake spiders so that they were running around, just like real spiders. The four of them had some sort of costumes and face paint. They painted each other like dead monsters, fake blood dripping out of the corner of their mouths. They went down and after a few minutes the portrait swung open again. The older boys came in and they whistled through their teeth. "Nice job decorating and with the food, boys. You got some of that face paint for us as well?" Peter ran back upstairs, happy to impress the older boys. "Yeah, we got some of that for you. But do you guys have something extra for the party as well?" Sirius asked. He did not care about their age nor the fact that they were two heads bigger. "I like that you are fast forward. But yeah, we got it." Said the biggest one. He gave the smallest one a small push and the guy ran upstairs to get it. More people were pouring in and Peter returned with the face paint. "Okay boys, this is a great excuse to flirt with the ladies! Ask them if you can paint their faces. Take your time with the pretty ones and do the ugly friends quick." Sirius smiled. "We will keep that in mind. So you want some of the face paint in exchange for the alcohol?" They switched the products. Somebody already turned up the music and the common room was quite full already. "Thanks guys, this is our last Halloween. So we will party hard. Hopefully you will carry on the tradition." The older boy said. They all shook each other hands.

The party went well. The four boys were not at all interested to impress girls. They were playing chess, exploding snap and they all drank butterbeer and sometimes some firewhiskey. It was burning in James his throat. His parents had never let him drink anything with alcohol in it, so after his second butterbeer and first firewhiskey he started to feel light headed and bold. He and Sirius started to sing along with the songs while standing on the table. Sirius whispered in his air that they should do a backflip when they were done, since almost everyone in the common room was watching. And as soon as the song ended they looked at each other, crouched through their knees and both jumped. The two of them landed next to each other, but not that steady on their feet. Sirius fell against James and James started laughing. "Oi mate, you okay there? I do not have to drag you upstairs and tuck you in, right?" Sirius laughed. "Oh shut up, you are just as bad as I am!" they both roared with laughter.

The party was a blast. Everybody enjoyed themselves. The last ones, including Remus, Peter, Sirius and James, went to bad at 3.30 in the morning. The next day they could sleep in, since it was a Saturday. They did not wake up until noon and almost missed lunch. Not that they were that hungry, they felt quite tired and they all had a headache. "Oi, mates! Never let me do that again! We cannot throw a party for my birthday if we are going to do this again." James lifted his head up from his arms. "I will not survive that. We better do something small." And the day after the tomorrow it was Sirius his birthday. He found a small stack of presents at the end of his bed. James recognized his present, it was the biggest one. There were only five presents. He opened them all. Remus gave Sirius some new quills. Peter gave him a new Gryffindor scarf. "Hey, thanks Peter! I needed this! I cannot repair those burn holes in the old one." Peter beamed. Sirius opened James his present. "Amazing!" Sirius smiled at James. "This is so cool!" It was a new cloak, but it was with Sirius his initials on the front pocket. "Thank you, dude! This is amazing." His last present was a pair of new gloves. "From your parents?" James asked. "Nah, they do not really give me presents anymore. They are kind of pissed." James looked up. "Why?" Sirius looked at his best friend. "Well, they never really did give me presents anyway. But since I got into Gryffindor they kind of are ignoring me. They tell the rest of the family that they do not see me as a son anymore. At least that is what I think. My niece Andromeda never really tells me exactly what they say, but I can guess. I know my mother, she is the worst probably." James looked at Sirius. He could not imagine that his parents would treat him like that. He sensed that Sirius did not want to talk about it. Remus and Peter were both looking at them, not knowing what to say. "Shall we get breakfast then?" Sirius asked. "Thanks for the gifts, guys. They are amazing! I am ready for winter.

The next two months flew by and before they knew it was Christmas time. Sirius decided to stay at school together with Remus. James was returning home and Peter as well for the Christmas break. James offered Sirius several times to come with him, but Sirius declined every time with the same answer: "Maybe next year, mate." James was excited to see his parents again. They enjoyed the Christmas feast and he played some exploding snaps with Peter and Frank back on the train. Halfway through they were accompanied with some girls from Gryffindor and James recognized Lily amongst them. He smiled at her, but she ignored him. He shrugged it off. Whatever, he thought. And he turned around back to Peter to talk about their holidays. And before he knew it he was back in London, being picked up by his parents.

* * *

Lily was loving Hogwarts. The classes were so interesting and she was learning so much. There was a lot of homework, but she did not mind doing it. She loved to read all the information and absorb all the knowledge. And she was secretly quite proud that she was one of the bests in most of her class. A boy named Remus Lupin was also quite smart, but sometimes he was distracted by his friends. They were so loud during class and always busy with messing with each other, the teachers or sometimes even other students. Especially during the classes they had together with the Slytherins. She was together with Severus in those classes, but they barely spoke during them.

The Slytherins and the Gryffindors were sitting separated and she was always together with Alice, Marlene and Mary. They were already friends since the Hogwarts Express and spend every evening together with gossiping, doing their homework and playing games. Lily loved playing chess with Marlene her chess pieces. You could tell them what to do and where to go and sometimes they even gave you advice. Slowly she was getting better. The only thing that she did not like that much was how little time she could spend with Severus. Sometimes they spoke to each other outside in the hallways or in the Great Hall, but it was different. She missed him. Mary made it very clear that she had no idea why Lily liked hanging out with Severus. She knew that Marlene and Alice thought the same way, but that they did not want to hurt Lily's feelings. She appreciated it, since she always felt like she had to defend herself and her choices towards Mary.

The first two months flew by and by the end of October it was finally time for their first try at Wingardium Leviosa. They had studied the material a lot and professor Flitwick finally said that they were ready. The whole class was excited. Lily was sitting next to Alice and they were chatting about the Halloween that would happen later that week. "I am so excited for the party. Do you think we should dress up?" Alice asked. "I do not know! And to be honest, I do not really want to go either." Lily just wanted to make her homework in peace in the common room. This meant that, even if she could escape Mary, she would need to work on her bed. "What are you saying, Lily?" Mary poked her head around Marlene to look at her. "You do not want to go? This is the first party in like, ever! You have to go!" Lily could see that Mary did not understand why Lily did not feel like a party. And she was in no mood to try to explain or convince them. "Yeah, I guess you are right. I slept bad last night, so that is probably why I am not really in a party mood. I will feel different when the party is closer to us, probably!" But secretly she knew that, even with her three friends, she would still feel incomplete. But before she could gave it another thought she saw professor Flitwick stepping into the classroom.

"Everybody silence, please! Get your wands out." He walked to the front of the class. "Mr. Pettigrew, please give every couple a feather. And everybody listen to me now. We will do the Wingardium Leviosa spell today. You will work in couples and with a feather. I will demonstrate how to pronounce the spell and how to flick your wand. Please pay close attention. After this you could try it yourself, but be careful. Pronounce the spell correctly and make sure you flick your wand right. This is the tricky part. Once you succeeded you should be able to make your feather fly, but keep it close to yourself. Fly it a few centimeters in front of you and put it back on the table. Then the other one tries and you keep taking turns. Are there any questions?" Nobody said anything. Peter was done with the feathers and took his place next to Remus. Every pair of eyes were looking excited to finally try some magic. Transfiguration class was mostly only theory, but soon they were also going to try to change things. "No questions? Great! Now watch me and then please try for yourself." He pointed his wand at the feather closest to him. It was Remus and Peter. "You flick and tick and say it like this: Win-GAR-dee-um Levi-O-sa." He flicked his wand, said the spell and the feather flew up a few centimeters. He pointed slowly up and down, the feather followed. He pointed his wand down to the table and the feather laid back again. "Now try!"

The whole class was suddenly concentrated. The first few Wingardium Leviosa's were being said, but with a lot of insecurity. "You go first!" Lily said. Alice smiled. She pointed flicked her wand, pronounced the spell and the feather did nothing. She tried it again, but again nothing. "Damn it, that sucks. Maybe you can try." Lily was a bit nervous. "Okay, I will give it a shot." She had paid close attention to professor Flitwick. She remembered the movement of the wand and from her essay she knew how to pronounce it. The trick was to make the 'gar' nice and long and put the accent on the 'O' in leviosa. She flicked her wand and said: "Win-GAR-dee-um Levi-O-sa." The feather levitated and the kept her concentration. "Very good, very good, Miss Evans! You are the first one to succeed! Twenty points to Gryffindor." Said Professor Flitwick. Lily felt a bit proud, but turned red. "Wow, so good! You are so smart!" Alice said. "Please, teach me!" Lily cheeks flushed red. "Well, you had the flick of the wand right. It was just your pronunciation. Make sure you say the 'gar' nice and long and the 'O' short." Alice nodded and turned herself to the feather. She concentrated, flicked her wand, and said the spell and the feather flew up. "Wow, look at this!" she said happily. After them Remus soon succeeded, soon followed by James and Sirius. After that Sirius and James ignored the feather and started flying stuff through the classroom. They pointed their wands at books, the hats of other students and even tried to lift professor Flitwick. They did not succeed, but they both got themselves a night of detention.

Lily felt happier that afternoon. It was a good day after all. She was the first to make her feather levitate and during potions she earned Gryffindor another 20 points for her answers. She liked potions. Professor Slughorn was always so nice to her. And it was one of the few classes she had together with Severus. They talked a bit before the class and she was happy that she had seen her friend again. The week flew by fast and before she knew it the Halloween Party in the common room was already that evening. First they had the Halloween feast and after that the party would start. Lily was wondering for a few days now if it was possible that she could maybe invite Severus as well. Could someone from a different house get into the common room of another house? Would he even want to come? She saw that sometimes he was being mocked by some boys from her class. Especially Sirius and James were playing a lot of pranks on him. Not only did they keep calling him Snivellus, but they put his backpack full of soap. For his greasy hair, they would say then. Lily wanted to say something to them about it, but Severus always said that it was not worth it. Usually Lily just sat down next to Severus and asked about something else. She sensed that he did not want to talk about it. Stupid boys, she thought by herself. Why would you be mean to someone? And why, in Merlin's name, would you think that is funny and laugh about it? And those bullies now organized this damn party. There were even rumours that they convinced some older boys to bring alcohol to the party. Of course they had, it seemed like they had luck in everything. She had no idea why Remus was with them. He was such a nice boy, he would not hurt a fly. Maybe he was afraid of being bullied by them as well. But then the fact hit her that Sirius and James only bullied Slytherins. They were always very nice to all the other students as far as she knew. What they have against the Slytherins, Lily wondered.

That night Lily enjoyed herself surprisingly good at the party. She did not think about Severus at all and she laughed a lot with Alice, Marlene and Mary. They took when she saw a drunk James and Sirius doing backflips from the table as a sign to go to bed. "They are only eleven years old!" Alice hissed. "And they are drunk! What if McGonagall busted them?" Mary laughed. "Oh, it is not that they could get in any more trouble than this, right? They have practically detention every day." They all started laughing. "But I also agree with Alice." Said Marlene. "They are way too young to drink. Stupid boys." Lily nodded. Just another thing to add on the list, she thought.

The last two months flew by and before she knew it she could decide to either go home or stay at school during their Christmas holiday. She decided to go home, since neither of her friends were staying and she was missing Petunia and her parents. She send an owl to her parents telling them when she would arrive at King's Cross. The evening before she left she packed her suitcase and fell into a blissful sleep. The next day on the train was quite chaotic. There was no empty compartment so they had to sit with James and Peter. James smiled at her, but she ignored him. Stupid boy, with his bullying and his pranks. He barely spoke to her, so why start acknowledging her now? She started to talk to Alice, who was already missing Frank. "Alice, you saw him this morning. Are you telling me you are already missing him?" Alice started blushing. "Maybe. It feels so weird that I won't see him for such a long time." Marlene asked: "Are you in love with him, Alice?" Alice flushed red. "I- I do not know. I am so young, but I like spending time with him. I feel safe when I know that he is around, even when we are not together." Lily smiled. That was so cute. Hopefully Frank felt the same way about Alice. She deserved it. The remaining time on the train they spend gossiping, laughing and eating candy. When they arrived at King's Cross, Lily found her parents and Petunia. They all hugged each other, even though Petunia felt a bit stiff. "We missed you so much, Lils!" Her father said.

 **Authors note: Yes yes! Remus is gone of course sometimes. Since he needs to transform into a werewolf and the first year he could keep it a secret for his friends.  
Furthermore, their birthdays. I am just trying to write the first year how I was planning it. But so far I think I might be too short with everything. I want to celebrate all of their birthdays and the way I saw it this was not possible. So I decided to make longer chapters in the future and their upcoming years will cover more stuff like birthdays, quidditch matches (James will of course try-out), third year will be Hogwarts etc. **

**Another note is that I love writing about those rascals, but I was always a very good kid. A goody-two-shoes ;p, so I do not really know what is like to be in detention or behave badly. I am re-reading all the books and focus now more on the Fred & George parts. In my opinion James and Sirius are quite the same sometimes, but better at school. They still have to become Animagi and that is really, really hard (Third year they will start with this). **

**Just keep reading my chapters and send me some reviews, I alway appreciate them!**


	8. Chapter 8 Christmas Break

Lily was happy to be home, but she could not shake the thought of her mind that she was also missing Hogwarts already. In the past three months the castle was her home and it felt like she belonged somewhere more than ever. She had friends, she was the best of her year in several classes and she knew a lot more about the wizarding world nowadays. She told her parents everything, the classes, the flying lessons she had followed (even though she had not liked it that much) and about her friends. Her parents listened in awe and were asking a lot of questions. They were impressed with everything that Lily learned and were excited for her. Petunia on the other hand was less impressed. She still had one year to go from elementary school, before going to high school. The sudden disappearance of Lily had not gone unnoticed and there were a lot of questions asked. Petunia would definitely not tell anyone what Lily was, so she stuck with the story her parents came up with. Lily could start high school earlier somewhere else since she was so bright. This satisfied most of the people, since it was common knowledge that Lily was indeed very smart.

Severus stayed at Hogwarts and Lily did not blame him. She was a little bit disappointed, since she hoped that he would return to their hometown as well. There were no different common rooms, tables and classes here, so they could spend some time together. But Lily knew that his situation at home was not good at all and it was an escape for him to stay at school. She visited some of her old friends from elementary school. They were very happy to see Lily again and they bombarded her with questions. Lily stuck to the same story her parents had told everyone. She had gone to high school already in a big city, for advanced students. "But Lils, what about that Snape boy?" One of her old friends asked. "He disappeared just like you. Is he in the same school as you are?" Lily nodded. It was probably the safest way out. "Yeah he is. He is in different classes though. They needed you to sort into some kind of, eh, group. He got into a different group. But tell me more about here, what did I miss?" Lily wanted to distract them and the only way was probably with gossip. And she was right. She sighed in relieve and listened to all the stories about her old classmates, teachers and people in their village.

However Lily's Christmas break was not as good as she hoped it to be. After three months of being away she kind of expected that Petunia would have changed her mind about their last fight. Surely she must have missed Lily. Lily had missed Petunia for sure. Hogwarts had given her a great distraction, but sometimes when she was in bed she thought about their fight. Lily did not even wanted an apology from Petunia, she just wanted to go back to how they were. But instead Petunia was ignoring her. She spend a lot of time in her room or at a friend's house. Lily felt a little afraid about Christmas. They were just going to be with the four of them. Her parents tried to keep the peace, but they had no idea how to handle the situation. So things were a little bit tensed in the Evans family.

On the morning of the 25th of December Mrs. Evans was busy with their dinner. Lily woke up with the smell of Turkey and it was mouthwatering. She got out of bed and dressed herself to go downstairs. "It smells delicious, mum!" She said. "How can I help you?" Mrs. Evans smiled. "Well honey, you can help me as soon as you eat some breakfast. That is the most important meal of the day." Lily snorted a bit. "Yes, mam!" She said army-like. She took some yoghurt with some fruit, since she wanted to have enough appetite for dinner. The door of the kitchen opened and Petunia walked in. "Good morning sweetheart." Mrs. Evans said to Petunia. "Good morning, mum." Petunia answered. "Hi Tuney." Lily said softly. "Morning." Petunia said briskly without looking at her. "Is there any porridge let?" She asked her mother. "Yes, dear. It should be in the usual cabinet. When you are done with breakfast, would you want to join Lily and me with preparing dinner?" Mrs. Evans asked. "Hmpf, maybe. I might go to Julie's and come back before dinner." Lily's stomach had some knots in them. Was Petunia fleeing for her? "Well, it is Christmas. Probably Julie her parents are also busy. Would you mind staying at home and just help us?" Petunia shrugged. "Fine." She took her breakfast to the living room and Lily heard noises of the television coming out of the room. Lily washed her bowl and her hands. "How can I help you, mum?" Mrs. Evans handed Lily the ingredients to make the stuffing. "Well, maybe we can start by making the stuffing? And once you are done I will see what the next step is." After five minutes Petunia joined them and started to cut vegetables. There was some small talk, but nothing major. Lily was quite happy, at least Petunia did not call her a freak. But then again, she was barely speaking to her. They were done around three in the afternoon. "Okay girls, thank you both very much. I will now get your father so he can set the table. I want you two in the shower and then in your nice dresses. We will make our family photo before we will have dinner." Lily and Petunia went upstairs. "Do you want to shower first? I can wait!" Lily offered Petunia. "Yeah, fine." Petunia said without looking at her. She stepped inside her room and closed the door. Lily stood there for a few minutes. Should she knock and try to talk about it? But she turned around on her heels and walked to her room. At that moment she decided that she was not going to be the one to reach out first. Petunia started the fight, Petunia called her a freak. So it should be Petunia that would have to make the first move. Two can play this game, Tuney, Lily thought.

She decided to make some homework before hopping into the shower. She took out her quill, her parchment and her potions book. She still had an essay to write during this holiday. After 30 minutes she heard the bathroom door open and Petunia walking back to her room. Lily grabbed her hairbrush and rushed to the bathroom. The shower was quick and warm. Lily brushed and braided her hair. She went back to her room and put on the dress her mother had bought for her. It was a green dress that matched her eyes and complimented her white skin and red hair. She went downstairs and her father was just about to finish setting the table. He looked at her and whistled. "You look amazing, honey. You are beautiful!" Lily blushed. "Cut it out, dad." Her mother was still upstairs dressing up. Petunia came down in a similar dress, but blue. It looked pretty with her dark hair and blue eyes. "And there is my other beautiful daughter. You both look bewitching!" Petunia's eyes grew big. "Never call me that again!" She hissed. She turned around and marched into the living room. Her father was a bit shocked. "But Tuney, I did not mean it like that!" He yelled after her. But Petunia slammed the living room door shut behind her. Lily looked down at the ground. "Do not mind her, Lils. She has not been herself since you left. I know she is mean to you right now, but she misses you." Lily nodded, still looking down. There were tears in her eyes but she quickly blinked them away. At that moment her mother came back and she looked breathtaking. "Honey, you look incredible!" Lily's father said. Her mother smiled while she kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you, my dear! Where is Petunia? We should take that picture soon before the food gets cold." Mr. Evans walked to the living room and called Petunia. When they came in they posed in front of the Christmas tree and started dinner. All with all it was a good night. There were no fights, everybody talked with each other. Between Lily and Petunia it was kind of forced, but at least there was no arguing. Late in the evening Lily fell down on her bed in her pajamas. She felt so stuffed and full, almost like exploding. She closed her eyes and slowly she drifted away into a dreamless sleep. This Christmas could have gone worse, was the last thing she thought.

* * *

James was excited to be home. On the way back in the car James talked about his first few months at Hogwarts. He told his parents about the classes, his friends and the Halloween party. He left the part with the alcohol out of the story, just to keep his parents sane. He knew they would freak out if they knew he had drunk some alcohol. "James, honey. This all sounds so lovely and I love listening to you. But you also send us several owls with this information. I am for one, just really curious why your friends Sirius is not with you? You told him he was welcome, right?" James nodded. "Yes mom, I did! But he wanted to stay at Hogwarts." Euphemia nodded. "Well, it is maybe a bit weird for someone to celebrate Christmas at another family." James looked out the window. It was approximately another fifteen minutes before they were home. "Are you tired, honey?" Euphemia asked. James shook his head. "Nah, I am fine! It just feels weird being back. I love spending Christmas at home, but I kind of regret not staying Hogwarts somehow." His father smiled. "Son, that is normal! I still miss Hogwarts sometimes! I am happy that you enjoy yourself so much. I love having you back home, but if you want to stay at Hogwarts in the future, please feel free to do so." James knew that his parents must be missing him enormously, but he was happy that he said that. He missed his parents as well, but now he knew that he would not have to feel guilty if he wanted to stay for Easter. At that point they drove up the driveway of Potter Mansion.

James enjoyed being back home. He slept in really late, he played some games with his parents and enjoyed being back on his broom again. And before he knew it was almost Christmas. His mother was working in the kitchen all day on the 24th of December, while James and Fleamont put up the tree and decorated it. His dad put James his presents underneath the tree after they were done. "You know the drill son. One present tonight and the rest tomorrow morning!" James nodded. This was, together with the food, the best part of Christmas. That night James was in his Christmas sweater with some hot chocolate with some marshmallows. His parents gave him his first gift and it was a new robe. "You are growing so fast right now. So you will need this probably sooner than you expect." His mother said. "But for now, finish your hot chocolate and get yourself ready for bed, honey. Tomorrow you get to open the rest of the gifts." James sprung up, kissed both his parents on the cheek and went upstairs. He was too excited to sleep, so he wrote Sirius, Remus and Peter a letter to wish them a happy Christmas. He got his owl, tied the letters to his leg and told him to visit Peter first and then go to Hogwarts to Remus and Sirius. After that he fell down on his bed with a smile. Slowly he fell into a deep sleep where he dreamed about Quidditch.

That following morning, Christmas morning to be precise, James woke up with a shock. Presents was the first thing he thought about. He looked at his clock and it was 8.30 in the morning. His parents were probably already awake, but he would wait until he was called by his parents. At 9 in the morning his mother called his name and James jumped out of bed. "You were already awake, were you not?" She asked. James grinned. "Yes, for about half an hour!" She gave him a kiss on his cheek. "Well, your father and I will not keep you waiting! Go ahead and open the rest of your presents. What would you like for breakfast, dear?" Euphemia asked. "Some eggs, bacon and toast please, mum." "Coming right up!" James walked to the tree. His father was sitting in his chair with the Daily Prophet. "Good morning, son!" "Good morning, dad!" James answered. James sat down next to the tree and grabbed his first present. He opened all of them the following 20 minutes and he was happy with what he got this year. He got some owl food, candy for himself, new quills and parchments, new gloves, a book, a cd and a kit to maintain your broom. "Thank you mum and dad! I love all of it!" James hugged and kissed his parents. "You are welcome, honey!" James ate his breakfast and the rest of the day he played games with his parents. Around 5.30 in the afternoon Euphemia went back into the kitchen to heat the food and James and his father set the table.

Dinner was amazing. Euphemia had outdone herself and James was full! He flopped back on the couch. "Mum, this was the best one yet!" Euphemia smiled. "Thank you, James!" The three of them listened to some radio with Christmas songs. James yawned. "I am so tired. I am off to bed! Sleep tight." His parents wished him the same and James went to bed. It was a dreamless sleep and James woke up completely rested. The rest of the holiday was filled with food, playing with his presents and sleeping in. Before he knew it James was in his parent's car back to London. He was excited to return to Hogwarts, but he would miss his parents for sure. But James was now at that age that he would never admit that out loud, not even to his parents. But they knew. They knew by the way how James hugged them goodbye, how James waved while the Hogwarts Express slowly started moving and by the look in his eyes.

James had a carriage with Peter again and after a few minutes they were joined by the same girls as on the ride from Hogwarts. James his eye was caught by Lily. He was curious what her holiday was like. She looked a lot happier on this train ride to Hogwarts then the last one. "Hey, Lily is it, right?" James asked while sitting next to her. She looked up from the book she was reading. James was speechless for one moment. Those eyes caught him off guard. He remembered them being green, but not this green. "Yes, why do you ask?" She said blankly. "Eh… Well hi, I am James." James said quickly. "I know, you have quite the reputation." She looked back at her book. James had no idea why she was this distant. "Did you had a nice Christmas break?" He tried to be nice. "It was fine, thank you for asking." She still looked at her book. "Mine as well. In case you want to know." James was still trying to figure out why she was so cold to him. "Well, I was not really. But thank you for letting me know. Why are you asking me this? You never paid attention to me before." Now she looked at him. "I was just trying to show interest. We are in every class together and we both belong to Gryffindor. And I do pay attention, sometimes. For example I know that you look happier than the last time you were on this train to Hogwarts." James hoped to prove her wrong. But her green eyes started to spit fire. "I am what now?" She asked. "Happier! Because the last time you were crying!" James desperately tried to explain. Why was she being so difficult? He just proved to her that he knows when she is around. "You are such a jerk! Thank you James, for pointing out that I was crying. You have absolutely no idea what is going on in my life and I would rather keep it that way. So excuse me if I was crying and that disturbed you. You have absolutely no idea how you make other people feel with your comments now, do you? You even bully people, like the Slytherins. I hate bullies. So if you want to pay attention to me, maybe you should change your behavior first." Lily looked down at her book again and refused to look at him.

James was stunned. What just happened? He only tried to be nice. At that point he saw that the rest of the people in the compartment were looking at him. "Come on Peter, let us play some exploding snaps." James had no idea what he had done wrong, but it was obvious that Lily was mad at him. There was no use in trying to calm her down. He tried to forget about their conversation, but the comment about being a bully kept stinging him. Peter kept winning from him and this never happened. "Oy, mate. Pay some more attention, will you? You are not even trying to win here!" Peter said to him. James shook his head. He was not a bully. Who was he bullying then? Nobody, so he was not a bully. He focused on playing again and managed to win this time from Peter.

When they arrived back at the castle they found Remus and Sirius in the common room. "Oy! How was your holiday?" James asked. "It was fine! The feast was amazing!" Remus answered. Sirius nodded. "Remus did all of his homework and I just wandered in the castle. I have to show you guys something tonight! I found this short cut behind a tapestry on a wall." Sirius stood up. "I am really tired. I just want to take a shower and go to bed." Peter said. "Same for me! I am almost done with the last chapter we had to read for History." Remus said. "Booooooring! I will join you!" James sprung up to his feet. Sirius high fived him.

They climbed through the portrait hole and outside they ran into Lily, Marlene and Mary. Sirius said hi, but only Marlene and Mary said hi back. Lily ignored the both of them and marched to the portrait hole. "What is up with her?" Sirius said. James told him about their fight on the train. "Weird, mate. Just weird. But then again, women are weird! I would just forget about it. You never said anything that was not true to anyone. The Slytherins deserve those name callings. They do the exact same thing to us as well. It is just what Houses among each other do. She needs to relax." James laughed. "Yeah, you are right. Well, show me that secret short cut of yours now! I am really curious."


	9. Chapter 9 Experiencing Hogwarts

James was out every night with Sirius to explore the grounds and the castle of Hogwarts when they were not in detention. They tried to be a bit more careful and active in class, since they enjoyed sneaking around to discover the castle. It had so many secrets, it was almost impossible to remember them. "SST, be quiet!" James hissed to his friend. They were out way after curfew and they were sneaking around the dungeons. "What?" Sirius mouthed to James. "I hear something or someone!" James whispered as quietly as he could. Sirius nodded. There was that noise again! And it was coming closer this time. "Footsteps!" Sirius whispered and pushed James forward towards a statue. They hid behind it and hold their breath.

"I swear that I heard something over here." It were the prefects of the Slytherin House. James only knew the name of the boy, it was Lucius Malfoy. He was a pain in the ass of anyone who was not in his house. It was almost like if he was trying to catch you on a mistake so he could give you detention. But all the Slytherins were safe. They even got all the stuff that he seized from all the other students. Other prefects complained to their head of the houses but it could not bother. Malfoy would just deny everything when Slughorn asked about it and Slughorn would believe him on his word. And now they probably did their rounds and they were pretty close to discovering James and Sirius.

James held his breath. Dammit, he thought. If we get discovered he will make sure that we will have at least a week of detention and a lot of points taken from their house. They were caught way past curfew, creeping around and with no intention getting back anytime soon. The Gryffindor tower was all the way up on the other side of the castle. Sirius mouthed something to James, but it was too dark for James to read his lips. He shook his head and placed his finger on his mouth. "Lucius, maybe it was Slughorn getting back to his office?" The Head Girl said. "He is already asleep since 10, Cynthia. You know he has the same schedule every day. No, there were students here. And they should be close, probably hiding somewhere." He started looking in empty classrooms and was getting awfully close to the statue. "And what if they are Slytherin students?" Cynthia asked. "Then they would not be hiding themselves. They know that we would never give them detention or something like that. No, whoever is here is not supposed to be here and now they are hiding." Lucius was just a few steps away from the statue. James tried so hard not to make a single sound and he saw that Sirius was having the same idea. "Lucius, please I am done here. It is late and I want to go to bed. We were not even supposed to do round tonight, we just covered for the prefects. Can you please let it go? I think Narcissa is still waiting for you." Lucius stood still for a moment looking at the statue. "I guess you are right. We will return to the common room then." Both of the prefects turned around and walked out of the hall.

James and Sirius kept quiet for several minutes and then Sirius whispered: "Do you think they are really gone? I am not looking forward in running into them while they wait for us." James shrugged. "Let's wait a couple more minutes and then leave." Sirius nodded and leaned his head against the wall. James closed his eyes and tried to focus on any sounds that were odd. After a few minutes he gave Sirius a nudge and whispered: "Are you ready?" Sirius nodded. The two of them sneaked away from the castle and were trying to be as quiet as possible. Luckily it seemed that Lucius and Cynthia indeed returned to the dungeons. Sirius and James made it back to the portrait hole. "May I ask where the two of you were, this time at night?" The Fat Lady asked. "You may, but I choose not to answer that. And now I would like to go back to bed. Dragon skin." Sirius said the password. The Fat Lady sighed and swung open. James climbed in and they walked up the stairs to the dorm. "Well mate that was quite a night." Sirius said. "Tomorrow evening again?" James laughed. "Mate, we were so close to being caught, but that adrenaline rush! This was amazing! Let's skip the dungeons tomorrow. I rather not walk into a group of Slytherins that late in the evening." Sirius laughed. "I would not mind a little duel of my own, but okay. We will go somewhere else then." James hit Sirius on the back. "Sleep tight, mate." Sirius replied the same.

The following two night were again successful for James and Sirius. But on their third night out they were caught by the Head Boy and Girl of the Hufflepuffs. "What is it with you students and being out of bed after curfew? We just found two Ravenclaws messing around in an empty classroom and now two first years, for Merlin's sake. At least the Ravenclaws were third years. I will have to report this to professor McGonagall. She will see that you will get a fitting punishment. So let's go to her office, right now." James and Sirius walked with the girl to the office of McGonagall. "At least you are doing your job." Sirius complimented the girl. He smiled at her and whipped his hair out of his face. She looked at him a little confused. "Yeah, I suppose so." She said. "Did you also bring the Ravenclaws to the head of their house?" Sirius asked. "Of course. The head of the houses knows what to do best." Sirius nodded. "Of course, that is normal. And they were messing around with each other. Tsk, what a situation." The girl smiled a bit. "You should have seen the faces when we walked in on them. So shocked, I felt a bit bad that we did that to them. But maybe this time she will finally learn now what it is like to be on the other end of the gossip. Since she always …" But then the girl stopped talking. Clearly she almost said something that could give away the identity of the girl in question. "I hope she has never targeted you with this gossip." Sirius said in shock. James had no idea why Sirius cared so much about this Ravenclaw girl. He was just wondering how much detention he would get and how many points were going to be deducted by McGonagall. "Not me in particular. But she questioned the integrity of Hufflepuff prefects."

James saw that the Head Girl was getting worked up again just thinking about it. "She did not!" Sirius gasped. "It is common knowledge that you Hufflepuffs are the most loyal of all of us. Even more than Gryffindor I have to say." The girl blushed a bit. "Even now you are doing the right thing!" Sirius said. "You bring us to our head of the house for our punishment, while we regret so much even being out this time of night." The girl stopped. "You do? Because it seems like you are quite relaxed." Sirius gave James a nudge. "No we really do. We never did this before and we always hear others about the castle at night. It was supposed to be really pretty and magical, but this was just not worth it all." The Prefect looked at them. "Well I suppose if you promise me that you will not do it again, I can maybe escort you back to your common room instead of professor McGonagall." Sirius nodded. "Of course we can promise that! And whoever said that the Prefects of Hufflepuff are not integer is just stupid." The girl turned around to walk to the tower of Gryffindor. When they were at the portrait of the Fat Lady she said one last thing. "I know you said all that to get out of detention. But it is okay, I do not mind. I already send two people to detention today and I was not feeling sending four people. Stupid Bertha should just stop disobeying the rules for once. It would get her out of so much trouble. Well, I hope you might do the right thing. Good night then." Sirius and James wished her a good night as well.

As soon as they were inside they high fived each other. "Mate, that was amazing! You totally got us out of detention!" James said to his friend. "Oi, yeah. It is fine, thank Merlin she agreed. If she would have caught us first instead of those Ravenclaws, we would definitely be in trouble." James nodded. "Let's go get some sleep." They went to the dorms and somehow it was silently decided not to go out the upcoming nights. Instead they played some games with Peter and Remus, doing homework and catching up on some sleep.

* * *

Lily loved Hogwarts in the spring. What an amazing colors everywhere outside. Everybody was so much happier now that the days were longer and the sun was showing itself again. The lessons were a bit more difficult now that they not completely new to everything anymore. The amount of homework increased more and more, especially around March.

"There are only two months left until the exams." Professor Slughorn said during one of their Potion lessons. "This seems like a lot of time, but do not fool yourself. You should start studying right now if you had not already started. Everything we covered during our first year will come back on the exam. The exam will exist in two parts. The first part is the making of a potion and the second part is the written exam which will test your knowledge. The upcoming two months we will focus on four different potions and one of those will be the one of the exam." Professor Slughorn looked around. "For most of you I am sure this will be easy or at least do-able. Though there are still some students here that could use some extra help or practice. Therefore I would like to offer Monday evenings from 7.30 till 8 in the evening extra classes starting tonight until the Monday before the exams. If you feel like you need some extra classes or help you need you can come to this classroom." He smiled into the class. Lily knew she did not need the extra classes, but she made a mental note to go to them anyway. Maybe she could help somebody with something while she was there.

"Okay and on that note we will start with the first potion. We will start today with the Burning Bitterroot Balm. It is a little bit more difficult than we did so far, but I am sure that you will be able to accomplish a decent version of this potion. You will all need your Bitterroot for this one, your usual supplies and you can find the instruction on page 34 in your book. Please do not hesitate if you have any questions. Good luck!" Professor Slughorn turned around and sat down behind his desk. Lily opened her book and looked at page 34. She knew that the best thing to do now was to just read what the instructions were and what she needed. She read both pages with instruction carefully twice. She knew that the most difficult part would be the amount of stirring and adding the right ingredients at the right time. Her cauldron was on her table and she lit a fire underneath it. Next to her Marlene already added her first two ingredients. Lily looked to her right and saw that Severus was also still reading. He wrote something in his book and then looked up to meet Lily's eyes. He smiled at her. Lily smiled back and gave him a thumbs up. He nodded and mouthed: Same! Lily smiled.

The upcoming 90 minutes Lily added the ingredients on the right time and stirred exactly correct. By the time it was almost time to leave the class Slughorn made a round through the classroom. "Mr. Avery, I think you should restart next week. This Burning Bitterroot Balm is not decent enough to get a passing grade. Please keep in mind that you might need those extra classes on Monday." He walked further and stopped at Severus his cauldron. "Mr. Snape, my oh my. This is very, very, very good. So far you are the furthest of all here. But I still have to check the Gryffindors, though. So hold your horses. But very good, you can be proud." Lily heard some murmuring and snorting behind her. She turned around and saw James and Sirius both eyeing Severus, who just turned red. "Oooh, Snivellus is the best at something suddenly. He probably never heard a compliment before, look at the color of his face." James whispered to Sirius. "He is as red as a tomato. It looks ridiculous on him with that greasy hair of him. And of course Avery needs those extra classes. He is as stupid as the rear end of a donkey." Sirius answered him. James laughed and then looked up to Lily. "What are you looking at, Evans?" He said. "Some pathetic gits who are laughing at somebody else his expense. Could you maybe leave Severus alone? He never did something to you." Lily was tired of James and Sirius picking on Severus the whole time. They did it to every Slytherin, but somehow they always teased Severus more. "Oi Evans, you want to protect your little, greasy boyfriend, don't you?" Sirius teased her. "Shut up, Black. He is not my boyfriend. We are just friends and yes, I protect him for people like you." She turned around again.

"Honestly Lily, I love your quality that you care so much about your friends. But why is that Snape boy even your friend? He hangs out with Avery, Mulciber and all those other weirdos." Marlene asked softly. Lily sighed. She always felt so defensive when her friendship with Severus was the subject of a conversation. "We grew up together you know. He told me I was a witch and helped me out with a lot of things. Honestly, he is not as bad as those other guys. He is very nice, trustworthy and funny." Lily looked down at her potion. It was already the light blue color it should have and she was happy with the result so far. Probably she would be done next class. "Okay, I get it Lils. I just hope he feels the same way about you and not more. Sometimes when I catch him looking at you it seems a bit uneasy. He looks like a hawk eyeing his prey, something like that. There is such intensity." Lily became a little bit uncomfortable with this comment. She knew that Severus was looking at her sometimes. There were so many times that James and Sirius called him out on it and made fun of him. She always said to herself it was because she was the only one he had during their school time in the muggle world. But now he also had other friends and he was still this intense. She just had to forget about it. Everything was just friendly between them.

"Ms. Evans! Look at your potion, my oh my." Professor Slughorn was now at her table and looked into her cauldron. "This is just as good and as far as Mr. Snape his potion. Congratulations. Both of you are ahead of schedule." He smiled at her. Lily felt a jolt going through her body. "Well, you obviously do not need those extra classes." Lily smiled. "Thank you, professor. I might still go though. Maybe I can help somebody." "So kind, so kind. My dearest Lily, you are a delight to teach. But I have to say, I do not know of any Evans that was outstanding in Potions. I heard about an Evans working for the Daily Prophet once. Any chance that is a relative?" Professor Slughorn asked. "That would be impossible I think, professor. Both my parents are muggles and as far as I am concerned so is the rest of my family." Professor Slughorn looked surprised. "Muggles you say! Then the talent all comes from yourself and not because you have someone in your family. Even more impressive, my dear. Mr. and Mrs. Evans could be proud of you. You can tell them that next time you see your parents." "Thank you, professor." At that point she heard some laughter coming from the other side of the classroom. Some boys among which Aubrey, Avery and Rosier were whispering and looked at her. Lily turned red and looked down. Professor Slughorn did not notice them and continued his round. He just pulled his head out of the cauldron of Mary with a disgusting look on his face. "Oi, dung heads!" James yelled behind her. "Did you look into a mirror that you are laughing so hard?" Immediately the Slytherins stopped laughing and looked pissed off at James. "Mr. Potter!" Professor Slughorn said shocked. "Why on earth would you say something like that?" James looked at him. "Well, they are very, very ugly so I would probably do the same thing if I was them. It is quite hard not to laugh when you look like that, right?" Professor Slughorn looked horrified. "Well, that is not nice at all. 10 points from Gryffindor for that comment and disturbing my class. Could you please be quiet now?" James looked with an angry look at the Slytherins who were grinning brightly now.

"Do not worry mate, we will get them." Sirius whispered to him. Lily was a little pleased with herself. She knew that James had done that because they were making fun of her. But still, James was doing the exact same thing. This did not make him a good person all of the sudden. He picked on other stuff then heritage. "Okay, listen everyone! The class is over. Please put your potion in one of your flacons and put it on my desk with your name on it. Next class we will continue." Lily put her potion in one of her flacons, cleaned everything, put her book in her bag and put her flacon on the desk. She headed out to the door. Once outside she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Hey you, wait." A soft voice said. Lily turned around and saw that it was Severus. "Are you okay? It was mean what they did." Lily shuddered a bit. "Yes, I am fine. Thank you that you did not join them." Severus smiled. "Well, I am your friend and I do not agree with them on that. You want to grab some food and eat together outside?" lily nodded. "That would be nice."

She spend the lunch break chatting with Severus and felt a lot happier when she arrived for her next class. Her friends were asking if she was doing okay. She said she was doing fine. She also saw that James was about to say something to her, but she ignored him and kept walking. He shut his mouth again and Lily felt a jolt inside again for the second time that day. That will teach him. First of all she did not need him to defend her and second of all he was not any better than them. He was just a pathetic, little boy.


	10. Chapter 10 Final part of the 1st year

Lily was enjoying the warm sun on her face. She was studying with Mary, Marlene, Alice and Frank outside. "I will never be able to remember all of this!" Mary complained. "How can Flitwick expect us to remember all these spells, wand waving and their history? I might go crazy as well, just like Greta." Greta Catchlove from Hufflepuff was the first student who broke down crying during Transfiguration. She was yelling she was never able to pass all of this, she was too dumb and she should just quit now and drop out. Lily felt so bad for her, but she was happy that she was not worried at all. Next week they had their exams and she felt more than confident that she would pass them all. She made a schedule and she was following it strictly. Most of the other students were a bit panicked that the exams were this close, so they were studying all night and quizzing each other. Alice and Frank were quizzing each other right now on Potions, since Frank was having some problems with this class.

"Lils!" Said Mary with a sweet voice. "Yes, Mary?" Lily grinned. She knew that Mary needed something when she spoke in that tone. "Could I borrow your notes on History again, pretty please?" Lily sighed. "You do have your own, right?" Mary pouted. "Yes, but yours are way better!" Lily laughed. "Are you trying to suck up to me right now? I might need more this time then just a compliment." Mary pretended to be begging on her knees. "Whatever you need, Ms. Evans! Anything!" Everybody laughed. "Well, you can copy them if you want. But you have to buy me chocolate on the way back to London." "That is a deal!" Mary grabbed Lily's parchment and started to copy down her notes. Marlene sighed. "Well, I think I know Transfiguration now. I only need to study Potions. Thank Merlin that is our last exam! I still have some time."

Lily closed her eyes and lay down on the grass. It was mid-May and the weather was amazing this week. It was a shame they had to study. Suddenly the sun was blocked by a shadow. She opened her eyes and saw Sirius standing above her. "What do you want, Black?" She said harsh. "Oi Evans, good to see you too. I was just wondering if you had seen James, Remus or Peter." Lily sat up right. "And why, in Merlin's name, would I know where they are?" Sirius grinned knowingly. "Just a questions, Evans. But apparently you do not know where they are." Sirius was about to walk away when Mary said: "Hey Black, is Remus back again?" Sirius turned around. "Yes, he came back last night." Mary nodded. "Why does he keeps going home? Is everything okay?" Sirius looked thoughtful. "Well, I do not know if he wants other people to know. But somebody back home is very sick and sometimes he needs to return to help out or check-up. I think one time it was even to say goodbye, but she pulled through." Mary's eyes became big. "She? So is it his mum?" Sirius cheeks flushed. It was clear that he misspoke. "Yes, but that is all I know as well. He is very quiet about it and barely speaks to us. But I do not think it is going that well, since he comes back thinner every time he returns." Mary nodded. "We will not say a word to anyone." Sirius nodded and turned around to walk off. Lily felt bad for Remus. She could not imagine her mother being sick or close to dying. Remus was a very nice person and did not deserve this. She had also no idea why he would want to hang out with Sirius and James. He was never bullying anyone or interrupting class. He was the complete opposite of James and Sirius.

Soon the group returned to the castle for lunch. Sirius apparently found his friends again. Remus looked indeed thinner and tired. He had bags underneath his eyes and was staring into the distance. Peter gave him a nudge and he looked at his friends. They said something to him and he nodded. "Hey Lil, can you pass me the syrup please?" Alice asked interrupting Lily her thoughts. Lily handed her the syrup and focused on their own conversation.

Before they knew it the first exam was there. It was History of Magic and everybody was trying to do some last minute cramming before the start. "How do you remember all those Goblins? All of their names are almost the same." Mary complained nervously. "Just write something with Axl the Axer or something and you are probably right." Frank said. Everybody started laughing. "Yeah, you are right! I have nothing to be worried about. The names you can just improvise." At that moment the doors opened up and showed a lot of tables in rows. "Good morning students. Welcome to your first exam. Please find your name on the table and sit down." Professor Flitwick said. Everybody walked inside and Lily found her name in the third row. She scanned the room while sitting down. Two rows on her right were Frank and Mary. A few seats further were Alice and Marlene. On her left was Sirius and he grinned at her. "Nervous, Evans?" Lily looked him in the eye. "Not at all, Black. You?" He shook his head. "Even with all the detention James and I had we still managed to study. This will be easy." At that moment professor Flitwick said: "Silence please, ladies and gentlemen. It is time to start your exam. Eyes on your own paper, use your own quill and it better be a normal one. If we find out you use self-spelling quills you will fail all of your exams." Lily turned her paper around and read the first question. She knew this! Her confidence grew and the upcoming two hours she was busy with answering the questions.

Once she was done she proof read all her answers, corrected a few mistakes and put her quill down. She looked around and saw that a few other students were done as well. Some looked happy, some looked scared. There were still 15 minutes left and Lily waited patiently. After 15 minutes professor Flitwick said: "Time is up! Put your quills down! I will summon your exams now. Mr. Dearborn, I said that time is up. Put down your quill! Accio exams." All the exams rose up in the air and flew towards Flitwick. He gave a small sweep with his wand and the parchments stacked themselves up on his desk. "You are free to go now. Good luck with the rest of your exams." The chairs were scraping on the floor when all the students stood up. Lily waited by the door for her friends. "Oh my God!" Mary said. "I think it went quite well. And with you guys?" Everybody had a good feeling about their first exam. "I am just glad that the first one is done. At least I know what to expect now." Alice said. Marlene nodded. "Same, indeed. Let's go eat now and then study for the one tomorrow."

The rest of the exams were passing by quickly. Lily had a good feeling about all of them, especially Potions and Transfiguration. Her Ocolus potion had the right color, smell and did indeed enhance the eyesight of professor Slughorn for five minutes. "Very well done, Ms. Evans. We did a simple version of this potion. If we continue for six more months with the exact same thing we just did we could restore my eyesight completely probably. But this version is only for a few minutes and yours is so far the best, I dare to say. Maybe I am not allowed to say anything, but you got nothing to worry about. The limit for restoring my eyesight was one minute and you reached five." Lily left that exam feeling happy and it was the last one.

They had still one week left at Hogwarts before they had to return home. On the last day of school they got their results in the afternoon. Lily and all of her friends passed. "Yes! I was so nervous!" Marlene said. "Why? You had nothing to worry about!" Alice said. "In the end not, no. I was still nervous though! Now I can enjoy the feast tonight fully." When they all went down to the Great Hall for the final feast they were chatting about their summer plans. Mary was going to Denmark with her family, Marlene was staying in England and Alice was discussing with Frank if they could meet up in London at one point. Lily had no summer plans. Usually they decided to go somewhere last minute with the car and that was not going to be different this year.

The feast was the best one yet. With their stomach full they returned to bed. The next morning they found an empty carriage in the Hogwarts Express and sat down. "Well girls, how did you like your first years?" Lily asked. "It was everything I hoped for and more!" Alice said. Marlene and Mary nodded. "I totally agree! It is hard to think about the fact that I was afraid to fit in since I did not know anything about the wizarding world. But look at me now, I felt never more at home." Mary said: "Well Lily, considering you are the best of all of us first years, you are allowed to feel that way. You had nothing to worry about!" Lily's cheeks flushed red, but she was beaming. Her grades were indeed outstanding. "Thank you, but that is too much. I am just happy that I passed. You guys did just as well as I did!" Everybody disagreed and they all laughed. The train ride flew by and Lily was picked up by her parents from the station. "Where is Tuney?" Lily asked. Her parents first looked at each other before answering. "She did not want to come this time. We forced her during Christmas, but now she stood her ground." Lily nodded. It still hurts her, but she was not going to let Petunia notice. "Well I am ready to go home!"

* * *

"Remus, where were you?" James asked. "You left again without a word. Are you alright?" Remus jumped when he heard his name. It was already passed midnight and he expected that either everybody would be asleep or that James and Sirius would walk through the castle. "I- I eh… It was my mom again, guys. It was going really bad and she just needed me there." James looked at his friend. "I am sorry, mate. How did you manage to get permission to leave school?" James asked. "Professor Dumbledore understand my situation. He said something once about having a sick family member as well and wishing he would have done more." James nodded. "Is she better now?" Remus shrugged. "Compared to before, yes. But not better that she is healthy again. I am exhausted. Do you mind if I go to bed?" James shook his head. "Of course not, mate. Happy you are back! You can copy my notes from the classes that you missed tomorrow." Remus smiled at James. "Thank you!" James got into his bed again. He felt bad for Remus. He did not deserve all of this. He had to leave school several times now the past year. Now that James thought about it for the past 10 months Remus had gone out for almost every month. And it was never longer than two or three nights. Remus said it was usually a last minute decision. He was like: "Hey guys, it is going really bad with my mum and I have to go home for some time." But it was approximately every four weeks. It was a bit weird, but maybe Remus had a deal to visit every month. But why would he not tell this?

James made a mental note to ask Remus tomorrow about this. For now James just wanted to go to sleep. He closed his eyes and drifted off into a deep sleep. The next morning James, Sirius, Peter and James walked to the Great Hall for breakfast. "Did someone do the homework for Charms?" Peter asked. Remus shook his head. "I had no time! Was it much?" Sirius answered: "Not really, but quite difficult. It was about a new spell we will learn soon. The classes were quite boring. I fell asleep in the last one." James laughed. Sirius got into serious trouble because of that and had to face a 4 weekend detention. He was just done with his second weekend, only two left. "Well, we better do it this afternoon then. Tomorrow is the class already. By the way, are we going to the Quidditch match this Friday? I know Gryffindor is not playing, but if Ravenclaw loses from Hufflepuff we still might win the cup this year." Peter said. James helped himself to some porridge. "Of course we go. I would not want to miss a single Quidditch match. I am for sure going to try out next year to make the team. I am still bumped with the fact that first years cannot try-out. Such a shame. I would make a great addition to the team." "Well, James. You probably have a better chance getting into the team next year. There are four people leaving after this year, they are all in their final year." Remus said. James snorted. "I would have beaten them all, I know that for a fact! I was born on a broom. But you are right, Remus. As always." James winked at his friend.

The next class was Potions. James comment to the Slytherins costs Gryffindor 10 points, but it was worth it. "James, you should watch out. Not only did you cost us 10 points, but they might seek revenge." Remus said to James after Potions. "I do not care! They can come for me if they want. I will take them on." James said bravely. "And you will not stand alone, I will be there as well." Sirius slapped his friend on the back. Just then they heard an icy voice behind them. "Well, well, well. There we have the two bravest Gryffindors Hogwarts probably ever had. Bragging about taking on several Slytherins at once. You know what happens if you do and I catch you, right?" It was Lucius. "Well, the new have to make sure that you will not catch us." James said cheeky. "Do not take that tone with me, Potter. You better watch your mouth or I will give you detention." James snorted. "You are not a Headboy, you cannot give me detention." Lucius smiled slyly. "But I know the Headboy and I know that I can easily convince him to do so. So the four of you better keep walking." He gave them one last look and turned around. "I can still hex him, if you want me to mate." Sirius said while his hand travelled to his wand. "Sirius, please no!" Remus begged him. "You will bring us all in trouble." Sirius hand stopped, but he did not bring it back next to his body. "James, again watch out. I will stop nagging you now, but please think about it." Remus said.

They went to lunch. After their classes in the afternoon they sat down in the Common Room with their homework. "Look at the weather outside. It is the first nice day in months and we are stuck inside." Sirius complained. "But we have to finish this essay. 5000 words on the incantation of Alohomora." Peter said. "It is just a spell that opens the freaking door, how can you ever write 5000 words on something like that? I write what I know and I go outside. Are you joining me, James? I bet these cowards over here wants to finish their essay." "Yes, I am in. Let's write what we know and then leave." They both wrote about a thousand words before they went outside. The rest of the afternoon they spend lying in the sun next to the lake.

Around dinner time they made their way back to the castle. Along the way Sirius nudged James in his ribs. "Look who are sitting over there, James?" James looked to his right. There was a group of Slytherins including the boys who laughed at Lily being from muggle parents. "Let's hide and hex them." James said. The Slytherins were sitting under a tree. James and Sirius hid behind a rock. "Snivellus is among them as well." "Okay, let's hit as many as we can with the Jelly-Fingers Jinx. If we are lucky they will run to the Hospital Wing and we can hit them with a Jelly-Leg Jinx as well." James whispered. Sirius laughed softly and gave him a thumbs up. "You will hit Snivellus, I can hit Avery or something. After that we have to be quick and hit at least one person each more. Then we have to sit quiet and let the confusion do its work. If they stand up and walk to the castle we hit two with the Leg Jinx." James nodded. "Let's do this!" They pointed their wands at the group and said the incantation.

Severus and Avery were hit by the Jinx and immediately their books fell down. "What the …" Avery yelled. "My fingers!" He tried to grab his wand but he was unsuccessful. Severus turned around, his fingers drooping and eyed to the rocks where the spell came from. He could not see anything, since James and Sirius had ducked down. "We have to wait now! Snivellus is looking right at us." Sirius said. "Do you reckon he can see something through that greasy hair of him?" James snorted. Sirius carefully looked up, but immediately put his head down. "They are still watching us." He hissed. They waited for a minute and looked up. The group was slowly packing their backs to go back to the castle. "We have to swing by the Hospital Wing." Avery said. They walked up to the castle and Sirius and James sat up. They pointed their wand at two others and whispered: "Locomotor Wibbly." The two Slytherins immediately collapsed on the floor on each other. Since they were also carrying the bags from Avery and Severus they were buried now under all the bags and ropes. "What is going on? Where is this coming from?" The fifth Slytherin yelled. "Instead of just standing there, Bertram. Why don't you help us?" Yelled on the guys on the ground. "Yes, of course. Here we go Evan, you are up again. Oh no, you are not." Bertram Aubrey tried to help Evan Rosier with standing but Rosiers legs were not done being jelly yet. "Damn it!" Rosier yelled. "Let's go to the Hospital Wing now. Severus, Avery help Wilkes and me together with Evan." The Slytherins helped each other and scurried away to the Hospital Wing. James and Sirius were rolling around on the ground of laughter. "I cannot breathe anymore! Did you see Wilkes and Rosier fall on each other?" After a few minutes they slowly got their breath back again. They held their stomach and were breathing heavily. "We should get back inside to go eat. I cannot wait to tell Remus and Peter." Sirius said. "Yes, same! We got them good! Great revenge for being stupid gits during Potions." They returned to the Great Hall and told Remus and Peter what happened. They both laughed pretty hard about the story, but Remus seemed uncomfortable again after the story was finished. "You two were lucky, so lucky. What would you have done if you were discovered?" Sirius rolled his eyes. "Come on, we got away! It is fine! Just stop worrying, okay? Enjoy that we got some revenge on those dung heads." Remus could not hide is smile. "You are right! You two got them good!"

The rest of the year flew by and the four of them had to study for the exams. James and Sirius decided to actually do something, since they needed good grades. "It is so unfair! You barely pay attention in class, if you submit your homework you barely have it complete and now you say you are already done with studying." Peter complained. "I work my butt off to pass." Sirius put his feet on the table. "Oh Peter! Let it go, man! You can always copy our notes." Peter looked up. "But you barely make any notes!" Sirius laughed. "Remus does! Copy his!" Remus now looked up. "Excuse me? I actually do pay attention in class and make an effort. But yes, Peter, you can copy my notes." Remus emphasized the 'you' in that sentence. "Remus, Remus. You will not get under my skin if you won't let me copy your notes. I will be fine!" Sirius closed his eyes and sighed. The rest of the afternoon they studied, quizzed each other and Sirius took a nice, long nap. James actually felt confident in all of the classes, but especially Transfiguration. Somehow that was his best subject and he barely put any effort in it. Charms, Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts were his second best classes. The only thing he really needed to study was History of Magic. So he mainly focused on that subject during the studying.

The exams went by pretty smooth and quick. And before they knew it the last afternoon of the year was now there. "I do not know if I can look at the results." Remus said while passing up and down. "Take it easy, Remus. You are even making me nervous." James said. "You cannot change it anyway, so please sit down." Remus sat down and his leg starts shaking. James rolled his eyes and focused again on his game of chess against Sirius, who was humming a song. When they got their results everybody was relieved. Remus had the best grades of everybody, but Sirius, James and Peter also did really well. "Well, at least we can enjoy our summer now." Peter said. "Yes, but first we have the feast tonight and the train ride back home." Remus said. Sirius suddenly stopped humming. He looked a bit down. James said to his friends: "If you guys want, you are more than welcome to stay at my place. We can do a couple of days or weeks, or maybe even the whole summer. We have enough space." Sirius looked up. "Hmm, I might do that! For a while, we need to practice if we want to make the Quidditch team." James looked happy. He had the feeling that Sirius did not like being back at home at all, but he was just trying to act cool about it. He was glad that Sirius was at least accepting this offer.

They enjoyed the feast and the ride back home to London the next day flew by. When they arrived at Kings Cross James gave all of his friends a hand. "Let's write and see if can meet up somehow. Maybe for sure when we go to Diagon Alley for new school supplies." They all agreed on that. "Okay, bye now!" Peter said while waving. He walked with his parents through the wall to the muggle world. Remus was the next one to say goodbye. "I will see you guys soon! Enjoy your summer!" Remus walked off with his parents. "His mother does look quite good now, doesn't she?" Sirius said. James looked at Hope Lupin. "Yes, she does. There is something strange going on here. I do not think she is really sick." James said. But his attention was drawn to his parents who were walking towards him. "James!" Euphemia said. Giving him a big hug and two kisses. "Good to see you again, son. I cannot wait to hear all your stories." Fleamont said. "And you must be Sirius, right? Hi, my name is Euphemia and this is James' father Fleamont. Do you need a ride home, dear?" Sirius cheeks flashed red. "Yes, I am Sirius. It is great to meet you. Well, I think my parents should be here somewhere." Sirius looked around and his face became a bit darker when he found them. "Well, I am sure James already invited you, but you are more than welcome to stay with us over the summer. We can arrange it soon, probably!" Sirius smiled shyly. "Thank you, Mrs. Potter. I think I will do that. I will go now. Thank you again and I will see you soon, James. Bye!" He walked off towards a woman with a big nose, black hair and a man with black hair that looked around like everything around him was dirty. "Are you ready to go, James?" Euphemia asked. "Yes, mum. I am coming!" James walked behind his parents to the wall. He was ready for the summer to start!


	11. Chapter 11 Summer Holiday

James was enjoying his holiday with Sirius. In the first week when he was back home Sirius already arrived with the Floo powder and all of his Hogwarts possessions. It was clear that he would stay the whole summer. They played Quidditch in the backyard, they swam in the swimming pool and they talked a lot about Remus and what is was that made him disappear once every month. "Do you think that maybe he is the one who is sick? And that he needs some kind of treatment every month?" James asked Sirius one night. "Could be for all that we know. Maybe we need to give him some Veritaserum? He will for sure tell us the truth then." James snorted. "Great plan, but how do we get that? We could never make it!" Sirius said: "Well, I was mostly joking. But somehow we can probably find out what he has exactly. What if it is something bad?" James thought about that for a second. That thought had also crossed his mind. But did he really care? He knew Remus was a good person. He was smart, nice and trustworthy. So maybe if he did something stupid once, that did not make him a bad person, right? "I don't think I really mind, to be honest. He is genuinely a good person. He never gets into trouble." Sirius shrugged. "Well, not in big stuff. We got into more trouble already. But he did participate in some of our pranks and he got himself detention twice this year." James laughed. "Do you remember how nervous he was before his first time? He kept asking us questions about everything, he was sweating so hard and he almost cried when the teacher called his name." Sirius started laughing too. "I do remember that! He was so ashamed afterwards for his behavior. The second time he got detention he was a lot more relaxed."

James and Sirius were also in contact with Remus and Peter. Both had no money nor the transportation to get to James. They did agree on meeting up in Diagon Alley to get school supplies. They decided to do this in the last week of the summer. "We better also get you some robes, dear. You are growing like crazy! I cannot handle the fact that you are turning thirteen so soon already." James, Sirius, Fleamont and Euphemia were eating dinner. "Mum, I just turned twelve. That was in March. That was only 3 months ago." Euphemia smiled. "I know, I know. But you grow up so fast. You are already starting your second year. I cannot believe it!" James rolled his eyes. Euphemia laughed. "All right, I will stop embarrassing you. Enough for one night, I guess." She gave James a small pinch in his cheek and she turned around to Sirius. "Sirius, dear. Shall we go to town to do some grocery shopping after dinner? I could use the help and I would like to show you where James grew up." Sirius smiled. "Of course I will help you, Mrs. Potter. Is James not strong enough to carry everything by himself?" Euphemia smiled. "He is indeed always complaining. But James will stay at home. His father needs him." Sirius looked surprised. "Okay, I will help you. No problem. That is the least I can do for you after letting me stay here almost all summer." It was Fleamont this time who said something. "You are always welcome here. It is no problem at all!"

After dinner Euphemia took Sirius with her running some errands. "Sirius, are you ready? We need to go now, the shop closes in an hour." Sirius nodded. "Ready, Mrs. Potter." They walked through the door towards the car. "Son, could you join me in the living room? I have something to show you." James curiosity was fueled. His father was a simple men, usually straight to the case. So that he was quite secretive about this, meant that something was going on. His father walked to the living room and James followed him. "You can take a seat. I will get it." Fleamont walked to the cabinet in the room while James took a seat on the couch. He opened the cabinet and on the bottom there was a thick black box. James recognized it, but he did not know what was in the box. His father always said to him it contained important items. Items that needed to be kept in privacy and not somewhere where people could easily find it and get in. He ticked on the box with his wand and it opened up. He took something soft and silvery out the box. The boxed closed again after another tick of his wand. Fleamont stood up and walked to a chair next to James.

"Son, it is time that you receive something that I had in my possession for years. But first I need you to tell me something." James shifted on the couch. He felt a little bit uncomfortable, but his curiosity took the best of him. "Anything father." James answered. "How often did you get detention the past year?" Fleamont asked. James looked down. He loved his parents and he did not want to disappoint them. "I think it is more than you would like to tell me?" Fleamont said. James nodded, still looking down. "As a father I must say that I of course rather see you not in trouble. But as a member of the Potter family I would probably also be a little bit disappointed if you did not get in any." James looked up in surprise. "You do not mind? You are not mad at me? Or disappointed?" Fleamont laughed. "Quite the opposite! But do not tell your mother I said this." James nodded in understanding. "And I guess that you sometimes probably could avoid detention if you could just hide yourself, am I right? If they could just not see you at all?" Fleamont asked. James thought about it. "Yeah, I guess that would help indeed. There were a lot of times that we could hide ourselves. But sometimes we got caught indeed." Fleamont said: "And with 'we' I think you are talking about you and Sirius?" James had the feeling he just betrayed his friend, so he said quickly: "It is mostly me. Sometimes Sirius, but also Remus and Peter." Fleamont gave his son a pet on the back. "It is impressive how loyal you are to your friends. That is a good quality and something that is always admirable. But maybe what I am about to give you is a great help to you and your friends." Fleamont took the package from his lap. "I sealed it with a sealing spell. It is not a necessity to do that, since it will remain in great condition anyway. My father Henry, your grandfather, gave it to me when I started at Hogwarts. I wanted to wait after you were done with your first year. There was chance you might looked a little bit more like your mother and you would avoid getting into trouble. But here it is and it is yours now!"

Fleamont unsealed the package and handed it to James. The fabric felt soft, slippery and it glistered a bit in the light of the lamp. It was folded so Jams unfolded it. After a few seconds it started to look like a cloak. "Father, what kind of cloak is this?" Fleamont smiled. "Would you believe me if I said that this is an Invisibility Cloak?" James looked up in awe, his mouth wide open. "You mean that this will make me invisible?" Fleamont nodded. "Yes, you can try it now if you like." James stood up. He was slowly getting excited now that the shock wore off. This would give him so many more opportunities for sneaking around. He draped the cloak around him, looked down and gasped. "Merlin's beard! Where is my body?" He threw it over his head and he disappeared completely. "Well son, it is yours now. Use it wisely and please do not get caught with it. It is an heirloom. This cloak has been in our family for generations, passed on from father to his first born. All of our ancestors would roll around in their grave if it would get confiscated." James felt proud. "Of course father! I would not want to betray your trust." Fleamont nodded. "I know I can trust you with this. And I guess that your mother will return soon. So go put it away in your trunk. She wants to give this to you once you turn of Age. But you will be leaving Hogwarts soon then and I had the best time in the castle due to this cloak. It would be a shame if I would take that away from you." James took the cloak off. "Thank you, father. I can guarantee you that you will not regret this." Fleamont rose from the chair and hugged his son. "You will make me proud anyway, son."

That night when everybody was already fast asleep James tiptoed to Sirius who was sleeping in the guestroom. "Sirius, are you awake?" James asked. "Yes, what is up?" Sirius whispered. James walked into the room and sat down in the chair. "Did my mum bore you to death with her groceries?" Sirius snorted. "You wish. Your mum is amazing. She told me a lot about you and your childhood. I heard some embarrassing stories from your youth." James could almost see the big grin on Sirius his face. "Those are all lies, of course. But I have something important to tell you." James could hardly contain his excitement. He couldn't care less that Sirius had some leverage on him. This was something he needed to tell Sirius right now. "Hold your horses, what is it? I can practically see you glowing." Sirius sat up straight in bed now. "I received an heirloom today. Something that has been in my family for generations. And you will never guess what it is. This will give us so many more opportunities for roaming through the castle at night and in parts where we usually cannot enter. Mate, I am the proud owner of an Invisibility Cloak." James could hear Sirius gasp. "Get out!" James said: "Sst, mate! You will wake-up my parents. But it is true. I locked it up in my trunk for now. But I will show you tomorrow." Sirius whispered back: "This is great! We can do so many things now that were impossible before. But can you promise me one thing?" James said: Of course, mate. What is it?" "That you will not sneak up on me when I am in the shower or something!" James snorted softly. "That was not even on the top of my mind. I can promise you that I will not that, ever." Sirius laughed softly. "I will go back now to my room. Sleep tight." "Sleep tight, mate."

James walked back to his room and tried to sleep. This was quite hard to do since his head was overflowing with ideas to do with his new possession. Finally he fell asleep and his dreams were filled with mischief, pranks and his friends.

* * *

Lily was in Ireland with her parents and Petunia. They decided to go camping and after two weeks at home they stepped into the car. Petunia was still barely speaking to Lily, but now that they were away she kind of had to. The conversations were polite and Petunia avoided Hogwarts as a subject like the Plague. Lily was fine with that. She already told her parents about everything in the first couple of days she was home. And she had no desire at all to talk about her school with Petunia. She would not understand anything at all. If Lily now pretended that she never went there the past year, she truly believed she could enjoy hanging out with her sister again.

During their eight night the Evans family was sitting next to a campfire. "Tuney, could you hand me those marshmallows?" Mrs. Evans asked. Petunia gave her mother the bag and Mrs. Evans put one on a stick. "I think we should start to think about our next destination. We are pretty close to the coast now. Maybe we should go there next." Mr. Evans said. "What do you guys think?" Mrs. Evans put her hand on his hand and smiled. "I do not mind where we go, dear. The coast is fine with me. I could use some sunny days on a beach, what about you girls?" Lily looked at her parents and then to Petunia. "I am okay with that! Did we pack sunscreen? I get easily sunburned." Lily asked. "I packed it into my suitcase, honey. So you do not have to worry."

The next day they drove to a small coastal town and checked into a hotel. "Finally a normal bed again!" Petunia sighed. "My back hurts so much from that stupid air mattress." And she fell down onto the bed she had to share with Lily. Lily felt a little bit uncomfortable. This was the closest she would be to Petunia in a long time. But so far everything went okay. They were already more than a week away from home. That afternoon they went to the beach and just relaxed a little bit. Lily was in the water and she was wearing a green two-piece that complimented her eyes. After she swam a bit there was a boy close to her. He was looking at her with a smile and Lily smiled politely back. "Hi, my name is Thomas." The boy said. "Hi Thomas, I am Lily." Lily answered. Thomas came a bit closer. "Are you staying here for long?" He sounded a bit hopefully. "Eh… Not really, no. We will probably just stay for the night. And you?" Lily said. Thomas looked a bit disappointed. "We have been here for two nights now and we will stay for at least two more. Where are you going next to? Maybe we can go visit you there if we are close." Lily was surprised. "I am not sure. We kind of decide if when we are on our way. Sometimes we see where we end up when it is getting dark." Was her answer. Thomas nodded. "I understand. Maybe we run into you anyway. How old are you anyway?" Lily had the feeling he thought she was older then she really was. "I am twelve and you?" Thomas eyes became big. "Oi, twelve! I thought you were a bit older. I am fifteen." Lily was blushing. "I am turning thirteen in January, though!" Thomas hold up his hands. "No worries, Lily. You are beautiful anyway. Maybe, when we both are older, we might run into each other one day. And who knows what then. By Lily, enjoy the rest of your holiday!" And Thomas swam away.

"He left just as quick as he came, right?" Lily looked to her left. Petunia was standing there in her white two-piece. "I guess so. It was kind of weird. He thought I was older." Petunia smiled sadly. "I heard. He also thought you were pretty. Do you know that almost every boy we meet thinks you are pretty? Usually they barely look at me and if they do see me, they do not pay attention." Lily was flabbergasted. What was she supposed to say to this? "To be honest, Tuney. I have no idea if they think I am pretty or not. They never say it to me." Petunia laughed now, loudly. "Well, they do say it behind your back. I hear them." Lily felt a bit attacked. It was not her fault that they said stuff like that, how could she help it? Why was Petunia acting so jealous right now? "Come on Tuney, you cannot tell me that there has never been a boy who was not into you!" Lily said trying to be nice. "I guess not. And maybe if there was, they never said it to me either. But hey, at least I am safe for the weirdos. You got that Snape boy crushing on you, poor you." Petunia said snarky. This made Lily mad, but she decided to take the high road. So far there were almost zero fights and she would gladly keep it that way. "As far as I am concerned we are just friends. I barely see him anymore in school. Our schedules are so different." And that is when Lily made the mistake of bringing up Hogwarts. She saw how Petunia's eyes got big and her mouth started twitching. "I do not want to hear a single thing about that freak school you go to." Hissed Petunia. "You should be happy that you barely see that weirdo anyway. He looked into my personal stuff and made fun of me." That Petunia claimed that about Severus reached the limit for Lily. "I was there as well, Tuney. I looked at it with him. I did not stop him from doing it." Lily said defensive. "It is always I, I, I with you now Lily, isn't it? I am so sick of it. You are the one who left us, you are the one who can do all this stupid magic now. You are never around anymore." Petunia was getting worked up. "I offered to ask professor Dumbledore to let you in, to persuade him to do it." Lily said. "But you called me names and offended me. This is who I am, Tuney. This is who I always have been. I did not change, you did. And I miss you, we used to be so close and now you are shutting me out. I can see why you think that I left you, but I try to include you. But you never let me in!" Lily was almost begging Petunia right now to understand her.

"What is there to understand? You live there now and we are not good enough anymore. Our regular school, our boring lives and our non-magical way of living. You forgot where you came from. I hear those owls screeching at night to get in with one of your letters from your witchy friends. You are in your room doing God knows what and we barely see you." Petunia looked in Lily's green eyes. Lily saw a flash of hurt, anger and some resentment. "Tuney, my life changed completely when that professor came to our house. You know that I wanted to throw a goodbye party for all of our friends, but mum and dad thought it was better not to. Their advice was to do it like you rip of a band aid, quick and all at once. And I do know where I am from. That is why I returned both holidays back home. I could have stayed. Some of my friends stayed and they are indeed also writing me now. But I do not have to justify myself to you. Why aren't you happy for me? Why aren't you willing to listen to my stories about stuff we only read in books when we were five? I live in that world now. I am part of that 'imaginary' world now and I want you in it as well!" There were tears welling up in Lily her eyes while she looked at Petunia. For one second, but only one, Lily thought she saw a flash of sadness in Petunia her eyes. But maybe she had seen it wrong, because Petunia's answer was nothing but sad.

"I told you before and I will tell you this time again. I do not want to be a part of your freak world. Let alone go to your freak school or engage with your freak friends. You hurt me when you looked through my stuff and you did hurt me more when you left me behind covering for you when you do all that … that stuff that you do." Tears were streaming down from Lily's eyes now. "Tuney, please do not say stuff like that. I know you miss me too. We used to have so much fun when we were on holidays like this. Please, let's go back to that!" Lily begged while wading through the water towards Petunia. "Don't you dare get closer to me!" Petunia hit the water with her fist and it splashed around her. "You are a freak and nothing more. Our memories are of a time when nobody knew about that abomination that is part of our world apparently. But now we know and we cannot go back there. Everything is different now. Do you think that I wanted to come on this holiday? Mum and dad basically begged me to come along and to talk to you. They think we could patch things up probably and become closer again. I only did it for them, but I have no intention in forgiving you for anything that you did." This was the drop for Lily and her voice seemed not her own when she spoke. "You forgive me for what I did? Forget it Petunia, I am done now. All I did was the right thing, every single time. You ignore me, you push me away, and you call me names and treat me like dirt. I am done sticking up for you when I tell other people about how you behave. And most of all I done feeling sorry for you. You are just mean and mad at yourself. Do not take it out on me anymore, I am done." Lily waded through the water towards the beach.

She was so angry and she hated it that she always teared up then. Petunia was being so mean and all she could do was cry like a baby. Well not anymore. There were few days left before they would head home and those last few days would be peaceful. That is the least her parents deserved. Lily walked back to the hotel and took a long shower. After that she braided her hair and put on one of her favorite dresses. During her time in the bathroom she heard that Petunia entered the hotel room but she had no desire in talking to her. When she was done she walked to her parent's room and knocked on the door. "Lily, honey you are a bit early. And why are you alone? Where is Tuney?" Her dad asked when he opened the door. Lily smiled. "She was still busy with getting ready, but she will be her shortly I guess." Mr. Evans smiled. "Good to hear. Did you had a nice day on the beach?" Lily nodded. "It was good. Nothing special. I am starving now though. What are our dinner plans?" She quickly changed the subject. "Well, I guess we might all feel like something very tasty, but also very unhealthy. Something greasy, Italian and round. I know you and Tuney love a good pizza." Lily felt her mouth smiling, even though she felt a bit empty. Her father was so sweet. Her parents did not deserve to be in the middle of her fight with Petunia. "That is the best idea you might have had so far this holiday, dad." She joked. Her dad ruffled her hair while laughing. "So cheeky!" "Hey, watch out! I just braided my hair!" Lily laughed. At that moment her mother came in and she had Petunia with her. "Look who I ran into in the hallway? And Lily is already here! Are we ready to go down?" Petunia nodded. "Yes mum, we are more than ready. I am starving." The Evans family walked downstairs to the pizza place and the evening was quite nice. Lily and Petunia shared some civil conversations, but did not look at each other. Her parents enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine and that is probably why did not really notice that particular part. It was already dark when they returned to the hotel.

"Okay girls. Sleep tight and tomorrow we leave at 11. But we will see you for breakfast at 9, do not be late." Mr. Evans said. Lily and Petunia nodded. Their mother kissed them goodnight and they left to their room just down the hall. Petunia opened the door and immediately disappeared into the bathroom. Lily sighed and decided to walk to the balcony. She grabbed a book along the way and sat down in the chair. After 20 minutes she heard Petunia open the door and walk to her bed. She put down her book and went to the bathroom. She got ready for bed and turned off the lights after she got in bed. She was thinking about this day and kind of waited for the regret to kick in. But it never came and at one point Lily realized she was not regretting anything. She only told the truth, did the right thing all along and she stopped feeling bad about it. There was nothing she could do about her magical abilities, her new friends or anything else. It was a part of her and if her parents could accept it, why not Petunia? This was Lily now and Petunia could either take it or leave it.

 **I decided that James would get the cloak in his second year. Somehow I could fit it nicely in the story while showing the father-son relationship he has. Now the upcoming years will be even more exciting. Futhermore Sirius stays with James whenever he can I think. He really hates his family and house. First he was a bit shy and he felt like he would maybe be a burden for James' parents, so he stayed at Hogwarts during the holidays in their first year. But now he met them on Kings Cross, so it feels less weird.**

 **Sometimes there is a while between chapters and I might forget something that I wrote earlier. So if you find something, do not hesitate to let me know. I try to remember everything and keep reading everything so I know it, but it still slips sometimes.**

 **And now for Lily. I think her relationship with Petunia is struggling really. Tuney is jealous at Lily and envies her, but she masks that in hatred and being mean. In their holiday they would be together 24/7 and Petunia sometimes even forgot that Lily went to Hogwarts. So they can have a converation, but as soon as she remembers the resentment is back immediately.**

 **Lily is so nice as a person and she loves her family. Her loyalty lies with her family and friends, that is why she is also a Gryffindor. But once she hit her breaking point, there is no coming back. And she just hit hers with Petunia. She is done if Petunia is going to act like this and she feels now more sorry for her parents and not for herself anymore.**


	12. Chapter 12 Before heading back to school

Lily kept her promise to herself. She barely paid any attention to Petunia and spend the days reading her new school books. She just picked them up with her parents and Severus from Diagon Alley. She remembered that day very well. Severus was so happy he could join them. Lily knew he dreaded going with his parents and she completely understood. Severus did not talk much about his situation at home, but what he told kind of shocked Lily. She could not imagine that a parent would be so horrible to a child, especially their child. Lily would hang out with Severus again this evening. Now that she read her new book for History of Magic she had so many questions about a lot of stuff. She read about so many creatures and events. Sometimes it sucked that she was not born in a wizard family. Whenever she had questions about something she read or about her homework she could not ask her parents. She wrote her friends about something in one of her last letters but she decided to stop doing that. Marlene and Alice were very nice and explained it to her, but Mary was a bit blunt and said literally: "I do not do homework in holidays, Lils and neither should you. Go out, enjoy yourself. You have a whole year ahead of you for this stuff." Lily laughed when she read it, she could almost hear Mary say it out loud.

Gosh, she did miss her friends. There were only four days left before she would head back to Hogwarts and she was counting down the days. Lily liked hanging out with Severus, he was one of her closest friends, but she missed giggling and gossiping with Marlene, Mary and Alice. She was interrupted in her thoughts by her mother who called her name for dinner. After dinner she went to the playground next to the hill to meet with Severus. He was already sitting on one of the swings. When he heard Lily coming he looked up and he started smiling. "Hey you." Severus said. "Hey, Sev." Lily answered happy. "Let me guess, you read your books already and now you have questions." Severus said. Lily was surprised. "Yes, but how did you know?" Severus looked at her. "The day you do not do read a book and you would not have any questions is the day that I would become headmaster of Hogwarts. So quite unlikely I would say." Lily laughed. "You know me too well, Sev. I have indeed a few questions." Severus looked into Lily's green eyes and his heart jumped a little bit. "Ask away. I am all yours." Lily felt a bit uncomfortable when he said this because she remembered Petunia saying that he had a crush on her. "Well, since you are my best friend and you knew you were a wizard your whole life you know a lot more than I do." Lily hoped to set some boundaries with her calling him her best friend. She observed him and tried to see if he looked disappointed, but she could not see anything change. Maybe Petunia was wrong and he only had friendly feelings for her. Well at least he knew it know, whether he liked her or not.

"Well, I read about a lot of stuff that happened in the past. But what intrigued me the most are the goblins. They were treated so badly in the past and now they work at Gringotts. Do you know anything about them?" Lily listened to Severus explaining his opinion about Goblins. He thought they were acting okay now, but they probably were not agreeing with it at all. "They try to stay out of every fight among the wizards and they see what they create as their own possession. Regardless who bought that product, you see. They are very, very possessive about their stuff. They might be nice to you in your face, but they would stab you in your back if they could save themselves with it." "You know so much, Severus! This is so interesting! Probably we get a lot more on goblins this year. I am looking forward to that. But I also had another question." Lily hesitated for a bit. "I read a really small part about something else. It is not really mentioned anywhere. But what do you know about Dementors?" She knew that this was something dark and sinister. "Well, not much to be honest. I guess they save it for when we are further in our academic career at Hogwarts. I know what I heard from my parents. They guard the wizard prison, Azkaban." Severus looked down now "Azkaban?" Lily asked. She saw him swallow. "Yes, it is prison for the most gruesome wizards and witches, or at least that is what they say in the books I guess. It is on this island in the middle of the ocean and nobody has ever been able to escape it. And the Dementors, they guard it. But they are not human, not even close. They float, wear long dark robe. You cannot see a single body part. Nobody knows what they look like underneath those clothes. They do not lift their hood, unless they want to kiss you." "Kiss you?" Said Lily with a strange voice. "How can they kiss you?" "Well, a kiss of Dementor is not a real kiss. I do not know how it works exactly. I just know that nobody would like this kind of kiss. They suck out your soul and they leave you, well, without one. Sort of braindead I think." Lily looked shocked. She never imagined that creatures like that even existed in a world like this. Severus must have seen that fear. "But that punishment is only for the wizards and witches who committed the worst and most awful crimes. You have nothing to be scared about. You are way too sweet and way too good. You will never end up there." Lily felt that her cheeks started flushing. She saw that Severus was ashamed of himself for telling her such a thing. He could not bear to look in her eyes. But after a few seconds he quickly added: "There are enough murderers in Azkaban, so I have no idea what you have to do to get the kiss."

Lily shivered a bit. The compliment that Severus made had already vanished from her mind. "That sounds awful. Getting your soul sucked out." "It kind of does, doesn't it?" Severus said. And then Severus and Lily heard something shuffling behind them. They both turned around, but they could not see anything. They looked at each other and shrugged. "Must have been a bird or a cat or something." Lily said. This reminded her of a beautiful cat she saw in the pet shop in Diagon Alley, "I would love to have a cat, you know. Maybe I should ask for one for Christmas." Severus laughed. "You know, that would be a great idea. You can bring it to Hogwarts with you. But would you not rather have an owl?" For the next one and a half hour they discussed about the advantages and disadvantages of having a cat or owl.

It started to get darker and Lily shivered a bit from the starting cold. "Do you want my hoody?" Severus asked. "No thank you Sev, that is really nice but I think I will go home." Severus looked disappointed and he also seemed a bit scared. "Are you okay? You do not want to go home, do you?" Lily picked up on this. He nodded. "Is it bad?" He nodded again, avoiding her eyes. Lily felt a wave of sympathy wash over her and she felt so bad for him. "Sev, you could maybe stay the night in our guest room if you really want to?" He shook his head. "That will make things only worse. It is alright. You can go home, I will walk with you." Lily nodded and they stood up. Lily had no idea what to say to Severus and he did not feel like talking. So neither of them said anything on their way back. When they arrived in front of Lily's house they looked at each other. "Same time tomorrow evening again?" Lily asked. Severus smiled relieved. "Yes, you better have some more questions for me." Lily laughed and then did something she had never done before. She hugged him. Mostly because she had the feeling he really needed it and she also wanted to do something to comfort him. Lily felt him stiffen, but then relax a little. His hands creeped up her spine and stopped in the middle of her back. "Thank you." He whispered. "No problem. Sleep tight and I will see you tomorrow." Lily answered. Then she walked to the door.

Once inside Lily said goodnight to her parents and went up to her room. But in the passage to her room she bumped into Petunia. "You got yourself a little boyfriend, Lily?" Petunia said snarky. Lily ignored her and walked to her room. She was better than this. She heard Petunia walk away to her room and she felt so proud of herself. There were only three days left and then she could finally return to Hogwarts. Sure, Lily would miss her parents like crazy, but she was happy to not see Petunia again for quite some time. Petunia was starting at the high school in the next village after the summer. Two nights ago at dinner Petunia was bragging about it and Lily got a little bit mad. At one point she said: "Well, I am already in high school. I will start my second year already." Petunia turned around and looked Lily dead in the eye. "Well, some of us follow the normal path in our life and not the unusual one." Lily scolded at herself that evening room. Once again she had let Petunia get to her. Well not anymore and now she was feeling darn proud that she ignored her comment about Severus being her boyfriend. She decided she would brush her teeth the next morning, since she had no desire running into her sister.

The last few evenings she spend with Severus hanging in on that playground. And before she knew it was time to head back to Hogwarts. Lily left with mixed feelings. But mostly she was excited to go back to school. This year things were going to be different, she thought. Now I know what I can expect from the classes, I know the castle and I have friends. This is going to be my year.

* * *

"James Potter, you get your ass down right NOW!" Euphemia yelled at him. James looked down and saw his mother waving angrily at him. He could not help to grin. He flew down on his broomstick to her. "What is it mom?" He said innocently. "You know darn well why I called you down. Do you want to be seen? What are thinking flying up so high?" James shrugged. "Well, this is a wizard village. What are the chances that a muggle sees me?" Euphemia threw her hands up in the air. "James, I warned you several times already this summer. And this time I am done. Give me your broom. If I have to explain to you why this is wrong you do not deserve to have a broom for a while." James' mouth popped open. "No, mum! Please mum, I need my broom. I want to make the Quidditch team this year and I need to practice." James started begging. Sirius now appeared next to James. "What is going on? Are we still playing after this?" Euphemia turned to Sirius and said seriously. "You two will not be playing anymore until James deserves his broom back. You should thought of your try-outs earlier, James." She turned around and marched back into the house.

James said a word that made Sirius snort out loud. "You would never have said that if your mother was still around." He laughed. James shrugged and sat down in the grass. "I need my broom, I need to practice." Sirius sat down next to him. "Mate, you will be fine. Please, give a rest. You will get your broom back before we go back to school. Plus you will make the Quidditch team. You know that you are good enough." James smirked a bit. "Well it did help that I already had access to a broom since I was born." "It looks like you were born a broom. You are a natural. Well, what should we do now?"

James was thinking. Before this Sirius threw balls had him that his father had enchanted. James caught them and flew with them, trying to score between two trees. After a few good catches James his confident boosted and he urged Sirius to throw harder and more difficult. He flew higher and higher and was just about to dive down for an awesome catch, but then his mother came outside. But what could they do know? Suddenly James remembered something. "Okay, I have something. But it is kind of risky. We could go with the Floo Powder to Diagon Alley. I still have some Galleons in my wallet. But my mum cannot catch us and we have to return before my dad gets home." Sirius his face started to light up. "Well, how could she catch us if she cannot see us?" James gave him a sneaky smile. "Exactly. You go grab the cloak and I will ask my mum to make something else for dinner. She will need to hit the grocery store since we do not have those ingredients. That will give us a good one and half hour in Diagon Alley." Sirius high fived James and stood up. "See you in front of your fireplace in 15 minutes. Well, I see you there." Sirius winked and walked off to the house.

"Mum, could you maybe get me something from the shop?" James asked his mum. "James, your broom is locked away. You will not get it." Euphemia sighed without turning around. "No, it's not that. It is just that I saw that you are cooking and I know that Sirius does not like this food. He says it gives him a stomach ache." Now Euphemia turned around and she eyed James suspiciously. "You do know that we already ate this twice this summer right? Why is this the first time I hear about that?" James looked his mum straight in the eye and said: "Well, he is so grateful that he can stay here that he is afraid to say something. He just eats is and sits through all the pain his stomach will give him later in the evening. He says it tastes really good, but that it is just hurting him. Probably one of the ingredients." Euphemia's expression softened. "That poor boy. Of course, I do not want him to be uncomfortable here. Well, I will just put this on hold and go to the store. I do not have any other ingredients left here. I wanted to go to the store tomorrow anyway. You two be good, your father will be home in approximately one and a half hour, as will I." She grabbed her purse, the car keys and walked to the door. After a few minutes James heard the car pull out of the driveway and drive away. He grabbed his wallet from the dresser and darted to the living room. "Sirius are you here?" He hissed. "There is no need to whisper, we are all alone." Sirius said 3 centimeters away from James' ear. James cursed for the second time that day. "James, you impress me with your language. A boy who lives in a house like this should never speak like that." James ignored him. "Just give my cloak. We will only need this when we return." Sirius his head appeared mid-air and was now floating in his living room. James grabbed the cloak and started stuffing it in his pocket. Sirius took some Floo Powder. "Ready?" He asked. James nodded. Sirius threw the powder in the fireplace and the green flames appeared. Sirius stepped in and said: "Diagon Alley". He disappeared and James set his foot in the fireplace. He threw the powder, waited until the ash was gone and said: "Diagon Alley."

That one and half hour in Diagon Alley was passing by really fast. They got some ice-cream at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, they looked at some animals at the pet shop and drooled in broom shop. "We need to head back now. We only have a fifteen minutes left." James looked down at his watch. Sirius nodded. "Yes, this was a nice afternoon. Let's go!" They returned with the Floo Powder to the Potter Mansion. "Okay, I will go under my cloak and I will block the view from the fireplace with it. So when you step you arrive, you will be invisible as well." James said. "Got it, let's do this." James put the cloak around him and stepped in the fireplace. "Potter Mansion." He said and the flames drew higher. As soon as he arrived at his house James took of the cloak and held it up to the fireplace. He heard the flames go higher and Sirius appeared. Quickly he stepped aside and Sirius was now next to him. He lowered the cloak and looked in the room. "I think we did it. Neither my mum nor my dad is back yet." James ran up the stairs to hide the cloak again. He came back downstairs and Sirius was sitting on their couch reading the Daily Prophet. He looked a bit worried.

"Are you okay there, mate?" James asked. "Yes, I am. It just that I read all this stuff about the things that are happening right now. Did you know that this week another muggle family has been found dead in their house?" James shook his head. "That is just sick. Those poor guys never knew what hit them." Sirius looked at the newspaper again. "And do you know what the worst of all is? My family agrees with all of this. Well most of them, you know. Did you know that my niece is probably participating in all of this? And my other niece, her sister Narcissa, is at school with us?" He heard that name before. "Wait, Narcissa. I heard her name before." Sirius nodded. "When we were hiding for that Prefect, Lucius Malfoy. The other girl said that Narcissa was waiting for him." James fell quiet. He never heard Sirius talk this much about his family. "Is that why you do not want to be home? Because they think like that?" Sirius shrugged. "I think that has to do with it as well. But mostly because my mum always favored my brother over me. And now even more since I got into Gryffindor instead of Slytherin. He will start Hogwarts upcoming year and probably end up in Slytherin. That will make my mother proud, but she would rather see that all of us ended up in Slytherin. That kind of makes the black sheep of the black family. Ironic, isn't it?" James had no idea what to say, but he did not had to. Sirius kept on talking. "You know, I never agreed with their opinions. My parents do agree with the opinions of all these dark wizard, but I do not know for sure if they would ever participate in murdering innocent Muggles. But they do think wizards are superior to Muggles."

James swallowed. He knew his parents did not think like that at all. "Well, for all that is worth it I think your parents do not define who you are. You make your own decisions and so far you show them and everyone around you that you do not agree with them. That is a very brave thing to do. A true Gryffindor." Sirius smiled and shrugged. "Yeah, probably." James just let it go for now. Maybe when Sirius was ready to talk more about his family, James would ask some questions.

After a week James got his broom back. His mother could never stay mad at James for too long. She urged him to stay low, because she would do it again and he would not take it with him to Hogwarts. James and Sirius kept practicing in the backyard for James his try-outs. "Why don't you join the team as well, Sirius?" He started laughing. "Nah, good offer though. I like watching more than playing, but I would make it if I tried out." James huffed. "Well, right after me of course. It is obvious that I am the better one of course." James had to dodge a ball that was particularly hardly thrown at him.

The last days of the summer holiday flew by and on the morning of the first of September Sirius and James stepped into the Hogwarts Express. "Ready for another year?" Sirius asked. "More than you think!" James answered. "Especially now that we have this cloak. We are going to roam the castle." They found Remus and Peter in a carriage and they joined them. The ride back was filled with stories, laughter, candy and jokes. When the night fell they arrived at the castle. Now that they were second years, they had to get to the castle in carriages instead of the boats. This was way better, since it was warmer and faster. "I cannot wait for the feast to begin. I am starving." Peter said. "Same here!" Sirius said. The carriage stopped and they got out, walked to the doors and entered the castle. James sighed happily. He was back again.

 **Author note: Hi guys! It's getting harder to post regular. I worked in advance on some of the chapters for busy times like these, but I am almost done with my advanced work. But I am trying to post more often now, just bear with me guys!**

 **I am working on my final thesis with school and things are busyyyyy! I love doing it, but it is so much work. I do have a holiday in less than four weeks, so I should be able to write more. Feel free to give some feedback, comments or compliments and the best way to stay up to date is to just follow and/or fav my story!**


	13. Chapter 13 Second year adventures

"James, look!" Sirius pointed at the first years who were now walking between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. "You see the small boy in the third row in the middle? That is my brother, Regulus." James stretched his neck a little to look at him. He found him quite quickly, because he looked like a younger Sirius. "Yes, I found him. You can see the two of you are brothers." Sirius looked a little bit irritated by that comment, but decided not to say anything. James continued, ignoring Sirius his facial expression. "Well, he is probably one of the first who will be sorted. Since his last name starts with a B."

And James was indeed right. Regulus was the second person to be sorted by Professor McGonagall. "Black, Regulus." And James saw him walk up, nervous but quite confident. He sat down and put on the Sorting Hat. After already two seconds it yelled: "SLYTHERIN!" The table all the way on the left applauded. Regulus gave one quick look to the Gryffindor table and found Sirius eyes. James saw that Sirius nodded with a stiff smile and Regulus nodded slightly back before heading to the other side of the Great Hall. "Well that was no surprise." Sirius said. And quickly he avoided talking about it. Instead he was now watching how Dirk Cresswell got sorted with great interest. James decided to let it go. Sometimes he had the feeling he would wanted to have siblings. And if he imagined having a little brother he would have liked it if you would end up in the same house as well. Sirius was probably secretly hoping that Regulus also ended up in Gryffindor. Or maybe even in another house than Slytherin. At that moment the Sorting Hat was done deciding about Dirk Cresswell. "GRYFFINDOR!" James and Sirius sprung up applauding and shouting. Peter cast them a quick look and did the same thing. Remus only applauded politely with a smile.

The Sorting Ceremony went on quite quickly. But by the time they were busy with Lucinda Talkalot James his stomach was starting to growl. "I wish they would hurry up, I am starving. I could eat like a werewolf." At that moment Remus' head shot up and they heard a bang. His face twisted with pain and he held his knee with his hands. "Damn!" He groaned with pain. "What happened there, Remus? Why did you hit your knee?" Sirius asked. "I wanted to change positions under the table but probably moved my leg too far up too fast. I will be fine." He said quickly while blushing. "But I think they heard you demand, James. They are finishing up now. This is the last person." James looked at Sirius and Peter. Both glared back but shrugged their shoulders. James nodded and focused on Professor McGonagall removing the Sorting Hat and the stool. After she was done Professor Dumbledore stood up for his welcome back to Hogwarts speech. And finally it was time to eat.

Everybody in the Great Hall were enjoying the food and catching up with each other. "Pass me the chicken please, Remus." Sirius said. Remus handed him a plate full with chicken legs. "I missed this food. No offense Jams, your mum is a superb cook, but nothing can beat the food here." James agreed silently. His mouth was stuffed with mashed potato. "I wish I was at your house as well, James. Your summer sounds amazing. I cannot believe that the two of you visited Diagon Alley without permission. How did they not catch you?" James looked at Sirius. They decided that did not want to tell Remus and Peter yet about the cloak. It was not that they did not want to share or that they would tell someone, but somehow they had the feeling this should be a secret for now. They would tell them soon they decided. "Well just luck you know. Timing was everything here and we got lucky." Peter looked impressed. "Do you guys reckon we will have a good schedule this year?" Remus asked. "Remus, Remus! No school talk yet, today it is still summer and school starts tomorrow. Tell us more about your summer. How is your mum doing?" Remus looked down at his plate. "Yeah, a bit better. Still not doing that well though. I might need to visit again soon, you never know." James nodded. "I do hope she gets better soon!" Remus smiled. "Thank you."

That evening they went to bed quite early. Exhausted by the long day and bursting with excitement the four of them fell asleep. The next morning they walked into the Great Hall. "Hmm, I smell omelet. Thank Merlin, I am starving." Sirius said. "Are you mental? You ate so much last night. How could you be hungry right now?" Remus looked surprised. "I digest fast when I am sleeping." Sirius defended himself. At that moment a few Slytherins walked out of the Great Hall and among them was Severus Snape. He was talking to his classmates. "Yeah you go ahead already. I just need to grab my bag from the common room." James gave Sirius a nudge. "Snivellus is also back. I did not miss him at all this summer. When did he decided to let his hair grow and stop washing it? It looks awful." Sirius laughed. "Well, why don't we ask him?"

They quickly walked after Severus. He had just turned into a hallway. "Hey Snivellus. Watch out!" Severus turned around and looked at them. "What do you _two_ want and why should I watch out?" He asked annoyed. "Well you were walking so fast. Can you imagine what would happen if your hair would drip some grease on the floor and you would slip? You would could get hurt. We are only warning you. Maybe you should try and wash your hair for once." James said. "Yes, Snivie. We are only looking out for you. There is a big chance you would not see the grease fall because your nose would be in the way." Sirius added. Severus became red and started shaking a little. He made a movement towards his wand but James and Sirius were quicker. Wands drawn they both pointed it at Severus. "You better watch out now, Snivellus. You would want to do something you might regret, right?" Severus stammered a bit, but tried to sound confident. "You both got some guts, huh? You wait until I am alone and then you say stuff. You would never do this when I am with my friends." James laughed. "Did you just say that you have friends? Did you hear that Sirius?" Sirius nodded. "I sure did. Well, maybe we should let him walk and hope for the best. He might seriously slip on that grease that he leaves everywhere." He put his wand away and turned around. James was just about to put his wand away when he saw that Severus made a quick move and drew his wand. "Sir-…!" James tried to warn Sirius, but it was already too late.

Snape hit him with a spell and Sirius fell flat on the floor, face down. "I cannot move, James!" Sirius said. "You need to get him for the both of us. Show him no mercy!" James listened to his friend, gladly he was just unable to move. "Snivellus, you should not have done that." Snape smiled now. "You sure Potter? It seems like I have you now alone and I don't hear any snarky comments. Scared, Potter?" James whipped his hair of his face. "You wish." And he shot a spell at Severus. It hit him square in the chest. His robes just turned pink and he looked down at his clothes, flustered. James started laughing. "That color looks amazing on you." Severus raised his wand but they were disturbed by a teacher. "Mr. Potter and Mr. Snape, what on earth are the two of you doing? And why are your robes pink, Mr. Snape?" It was Professor Slughorn.

"They taunted me, professor. They followed me, Potter and Black and started commenting on my appearance." Slughorn turned towards James. "Oh my, is that Mr. Black on the ground? What happened?" James smiled politely. "A full body binding curse, sir. Snape hit Sirius when he had his back turned at him." Slughorn hastily walked over to Sirius. He mumbled something and Sirius could move again. "Thank you sir." Slughorn turned to Snape and pointed his wand at him. Snape hastily walked back, looking scared. "Take it easy, boy! I will just turn your robes back to their true color." Snape looked down at his black uniform. "Thank you sir." He mumbled.

"And for the three of you! What is this for kind of behavior? It is the first day of the year and you already want to be in detention don't you? Well, that can be arranged! The three of you. This whole Saturday. I want to see you after breakfast in my room. And each one of you just lost your house each ten points for dueling each other. Now go eat breakfast or go to class." Slughorn turned around and marched to the Great Hall. "You got lucky he saved you, Snivellus. Until next time." James said. He and Sirius walked away to the Great Hall. They found Remus and Peter. "Thank you for joining us guys. Where did you go?" Remus sighed. "I went to get breakfast and I convinced Peter to join me. This would never end well and the year just started." James helped himself to some food, while getting a bit grumpy. "Well, he attacked Sirius when he got his back turned to him. But I got him a bit. Before he could get me, Slughorn came. Now we have to spend a full day in detention with him this Saturday." Remus shook his head. "I would help you guys, but I do not want to get in too much trouble. And you should eat fast by the way. We have Herbology in 10 minutes and we still need to get to the green houses." James quickly ate and they walked to their class. "Great, some fresh air." Sirius said once they were outside. "You say that now. Wait until it is mid-December." Remus said. "Yes, we will freeze our bits off!" Peter agreed.

The first week went by pretty fast. They shared Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Slytherins, Herbology and Astronomy with the Hufflepuffs, History of Magic and Charms with the Ravenclaws. Transfiguration was just the Gryffindors alone with Professor McGonagall. And before they knew it James and Sirius were walking to the dungeons after breakfast at Saturday. "I cannot believe this! I could have gone to the Quidditch field and practice today. I think the try-outs will be soon." Sirius sighed. "Please, stop whining about that. Yes, I get it. You love Quidditch. Let's focus now on surviving this day. I bet that Slughorn wants us to scrub the cauldrons in a non-magic way." Severus was already waiting in front of the door. He scowled when he saw James and Sirius. "Please Severus, you already look awful enough without such an expression on your face." Sirius said. At that moment the door opened. "Ah, I thought I heard voices. Do come in, you are quite on time." The three of them walked into his office. "Okay, so I want the three of you to clean out and re-arrange my provision room. I have a document with the things that can be thrown away and some stuff that needs to be labeling. I give the list to you James. Once you did everything you can go and enjoy your day off. Oh and before you go, no magic! No summoning of products, no organizing spells or something else. Off you go now." And he waved them goodbye. They walked towards the classroom and entered the closet.

Sirius cursed. "This is not a closet. This is a classroom. Well, we better get to it. We start with throwing stuff away I guess." James said the first few things on the list and the three of them tried to find it. "I swear to Dumbledore, you cannot find a single thing. If only we could summon the stuff we need. How would he know we did it?" James opened his mouth to answer but Severus was quicker. "Do you want to get another day of detention? He specifically said no magic. Let's just move everything outside and then move it back in if it is not on the throwing-away list." James wanted to say something snarky, but this was probably the best way to this. "Fine, we will do it your way. But if it does not work out, you will be doing most of the carrying." James grunted. Severus rolled his eyes.

It took them almost 7 hours to complete everything. When they were done they went back to Slughorn's office and knocked on the door. "Enter!" And they walked into the room. "We are done, professor." Snape said. "Very well. May I see your wands please?" The three of them gave their wands, but with a little hesitation. "Let's see what the last spell is you used." He gave Sirius wand a swirl and saw the spell that they had to perform during Transfiguration. The same went for James his wand. Severus his showed a different spell. Something dark came out, with green fog. "Well, Mr. Snape. May I ask why you did this spell?" Snape blushed. "It was just a spell I found in a book. I tried it." Slughorn looked at him. "And you succeeded. But this quite advanced. At least third year, maybe even four." Severus shrugged. "Well okay then. You can go now. Enjoy your Saturday."

* * *

"Sev, what can I do? I am sorry that it happened to you, but I barely speak to them. What do you expect me to do?" Lily was getting a little bit fed up with Severus. He told her about the tormenting comments and his robes turning pink. "Did they tease you when you had detention?" He shook his head. "No, but only because they wanted to get out of there. They knew it would be faster to work together. But they could not resist commenting on everything. But you are right. You are not friends with them. Sorry for bothering you with this. I just thought because you are the same house." Lily nodded. "I understand, but I barely speak to them. I find them annoying and arrogant. I do not want to be friends with them. But if I see you when they pick on you I will do something about it, I promise." Severus nodded. "Thank you, I can take care of myself of course. But somehow they always get me when I am on my own and they are always with the two of them. I just need some back up sometimes." Lily put her hand on Severus upper arm. "And I will be there for you." She re-assured. He blushed and looked down at her hand at his arm.

"Mary, could you please stop tapping your foot? You are making me nervous!" Alice said anxiously. "Oops, sorry! Of course!" Mary held her leg still. "Somehow that relaxes me, but my parents say the same thing." Lily, Marlene, Mary and Alice were working on their homework and it was a quite tricky assignment. "How can I avoid a Grindylow? How can I avoid a Grindylow?" Mary said several times out loud. "The answer will not come to you if you say it several times out loud, you know?" Marlene said annoyed. Mary replied with a snarky comment that made Marlene stand up mad and move her things to another table. Lily sighed. "Did you have to say that?" Mary snapped. "It is not my fault that she gets edgy when she under stress." Lily wanted to keep the peace in their group. This assignment was one of the hardest yet and they could use each other's help. "Everybody is under a lot of pressure now, this is due tomorrow and the information we can find is little." Mary snorted. "Well, not everyone is under pressure you know?" She nodded to the other side of the common room. Lily looked and saw James, Peter, Sirius and Remus huddled up and whispering loudly while pointing at the Daily Prophet. "They seem relaxed. Maybe they already got their essay done." Now it was Lily who snorted. "Please, already done? Okay, Remus I would believe maybe but the rest of them?" Mary nodded. "You are blindsided Lily. James and Sirius are very, very smart. Did you know that they ended up seventh and eight last year with their grades? The top 10 students from our first year and almost 50% of them were Gryffindor. And you know that they do not even try, right? They like pranks and mischief more than homework and paying attention. So I think they could maybe even beat you when they try their hardest." Mary said that last sentence a little bit bitchier than meant, because after that she looked guilty to Lily. "Sorry, that was quite harsh." Lily stood up straight. "It is fine. I know you did not meant it that way. But you can be really, really mean sometimes and I think Marlene has had enough for now. Maybe you should try to apologize?" Mary shook her head. "I want to, because the moment she left I felt guilty. But I know she needs her space right now. Or at least, she does not want to see me." Lily sighed and looked at Alice. "Maybe we can try and talk to her?" Alice looked at her essay. "Yeah, I have no idea how to continue. I wonder how James, Sirius, Peter and Remus are doing it. Do you really think they might already be done?" Mary was smiling now.

"There is only one way to find, isn't it? Why don't you two go talk to Marlene and I will ask those four what they are up to?" Lily did not want to admit it, but she was quite curious what their game was right now. How could they be so relaxed? "Hmm, I think you need another person with you, Mary. When James and Sirius are together you need all the help you can get. Alice, would you mind if you spoke to her?" Alice nodded. "No, that is fine." Mary shrugged. "I think I can handle it on my own, but okay. Let's go and ask them. If they are really done we could maybe ask to take a quick look. We might find something we could use so we can finish that stupid essay." At that moment they arrived at the table where James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were sitting. "Hi guys, do you mind if we join?" Mary asked sweetly. "Of course not ladies, please sit down." Sirius kicked the chair next to James to make room for them to sit down. Lily sat down next James and Mary was on her other side.

"For what do we owe this pleasure?" James asked. Lily rolled her eyes, but Mary answered in a higher voice that was not like her own voice at all. "Well, we could not help to notice that the four of you are like super relaxed. And everybody else is slaving over this stupid Grindylow essay. Did you already finish it?" Sirius laughed. "Oi, Mary McDonald, you are one curious girl aren't you? And let me guess, if we indeed finished it, you would like a look?" Mary heaved her head up high and pushed her chin forwards. "Maybe, would you let us?" Lily looked at her friend. What was she doing? Was she flirting with Black? Sirius looked at Mary with his eyes narrowed, almost if he was weighing all of his options. "Well, let it be the case that we already finished it last night." At that moment Remus scraped his throat. "Hi Lily, Mary. I think first of all what Sirius is trying to say is: Would Remus give you **his** essay to take a look at? And second of all, I am the one who actually did the assignment and they made some sloppy versions of it for themselves." Lily laughed. "Well that sounds more like believable. Good job, Remus. I have quite a hard time to write so many words on such a small subject." Remus smiled at Lily. "Well, I have the luck that my dad works in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. He encountered several Grindylows during his career and he could tell me all of his experience."

"Shut up! That is amazing!" Mary said. "Could you tell us please more? This essay is killing us! And you are practically a professional." Remus blushed a little bit. "Okay, just come here with your essays and tell me what you got. I can tell some stories and then you can add it to your essay in your own words." Mary jumped. "Yes, we will! O Merlin, thank you so much Remus. We will be right back." Remus cast one last look at Lily who smiled at him.

That afternoon they listened to the stories Remus told about his dad's work. Marlene and Mary made up after Mary apologized. Lily however cared more about Remus stories right now. She had never met someone who worked at the Ministry of Magic and she was intrigued. "So, does your dad see the Minister of Magic often?" She asked. Lily had seen her picture in the Daily Prophet and was impressed with a female Minister of Magic. "No, Mrs. Jenkins is quite busy and only socializes with the head of the departments. But sometimes he sees her walking through the Ministry." At that moment Peter said: "My dad says it is a shame that we have a female Minister. He thinks that with everything going on now outside we need a man." Lily was surprised. "Why would anybody think that a woman could accomplish less than a man?" She asked. She heard James laugh. She turned her head so fast she could feel a bone crack. "You think that is funny, Potter? I mean it." James now held up his hands high. "Wait a minute, Evans. I agree okay, do not attack me. I think she is a great Minister and a woman could do just as much as a man." Lily's cheeked flushed red. "Oh, sorry. I thought you agreed with Peter." Now Peter was the one who was on the defense. "Hey, that is my dad's opinion. I do not agree at all. Woman can do great stuff as well. You are the best of our year. You even outsmart all the Ravenclaws." Lily now felt a bit embarrassed. All those compliments after assuming the worst of them. Maybe they were not as bad as Severus told her they were.

"Okay, sorry. I am happy you guys think like this." Lily quickly looked down at her watch to avoid looking anyone in the eye. But when she saw the time she jumped up. "For Merlin's sake! If we still want to sleep tonight we need to finish that stupid essay. Sorry guys, we got to go." James nodded. "No problem, but are you girls planning on eating something?" Lily looked at her friends. "I don't think we have time." Marlene said. "We still have 1.500 words left to write. We will eat again at breakfast tomorrow." James nodded. "Well good luck then." They thanked the guys and grabbed their quills. "Okay girls, let's finish this stupid essay. We should be able to do it after those stories about Remus' dad." Alice said.

After 45 minutes the boys came back and each of them had a plate and a glass in their hands. They were walking to the girls. "How is it going?" Remus asked. Marlene sighed. "Pretty well, I think we need another two hours or so and we might be done." Mary had some spots of ink on her face from all the pressure she put on her quill. "Well, we thought you might like something to eat." Alice was still looking at her paper. "We do, but you know that we do not have time to go down." Peter put the plate and glass in front of her. "That is why we brought it to you." Sirius gave his to Mary, Remus to Marlene and James put the plate he was holding in front of Lily. Lily looked up. "You brought food up for us? How did you manage to get that out of the Great Hall?" James grinned at her. "We did not get at from the Great Hall. We know where the kitchens are and they just gave us some food there when we asked for it." Lily felt her mouth fall open. "Oh, well… Yes, eh… Thank you!" She stammered. "No problem!" Said James. He winked at her and then the four of them walked off.

"Oh goodness! Turkey!" Mary squealed. The food smelled amazing. Lily lifted the napkin from the plate and saw turkey, mashed potatoes and some vegetables. In the glass was pumpkin juice. The four of them quickly ate. "I did not realize how hungry I was!" Marlene almost moaned while biting in her turkey. Mary was stuffing the mashed potatoes in her face. "Indeed! This is so nice of them!" Lily nodded. She thought by herself: this is indeed really nice. I cannot imagine that they would bully Sev so much. They are very sweet today, not the usual arrogant douchebags they are most of the time. Maybe she had assumed the worst of someone again, without getting to know them first. She smiled and looked at James. Maybe he was not that bad at all.


	14. Chapter 14 Second year adventures

"Okay guys, wish me luck. You are going to watch, right?" James stood up from the table with his broom over his shoulder. Today were the try-outs for the Quidditch team. "Of course we will, mate. I would never miss an opportunity to see you embarrass yourself." James laughed. "Then I will have to let you down mate! Since I am sure that I will give you nothing to gloat about. But feel free to come and see me fly my way into the Quidditch team." Remus and Peter wished him good luck and James made his way down to the Quidditch field. The weather was quite nice today. The sun was shining, but not too bright. There was barely any wind. James pushed his glasses back up his nose. Sometimes they were a burden, especially when the weather conditions were awful.

He already had already changed into his Quidditch outfit when he got out of bed this morning. He marched onto the field and looked around to his competition. Officially there were six positions available, but he saw that there were two girls and one boy there who were also on the team last year. Thinking that they would be back this year, there were three spots left. One chaser and two beaters. And luckily James had practiced being Chaser since he could fly a broom. He looked around to the others. "Oi, Potter." A boy was walking towards him. He stood next to James and puffed his chest forward while saying: "Abel Cresswell, fourth year. Are you trying out today?" James said cooly: "Yes, I am. And you?" Abel nodded. "Yes, I want to become one of the three Chasers." James looked at him. His built was different then James'. He was bigger, which is not an advantage, but he is also stronger. His hands were bigger and he seemed confident. "The weather conditions are perfect today! I wish you all the luck, I know you want to be a Chaser as well. So we have to compete probably." James decided not to let this get to him. "Thanks Abel, you too. I hope you have a plan B, maybe you can also try-out for Beater." He turned around and walked to the stands. He saw his friends sitting there. He felt the corners of his mouth slowly lifting and he could not help to smile.

"Well you see rather confident. Don't you?" Remus said. "I just have a good feeling. This fourth year came up to me and wanted to intimidate me. But I kind of tolled him off and walked away." Sirius looked to the group behind James. "You mean Abel Cresswell? He is a tool, so good for you. You better make him eat your dust." James heard some laughter from his right. He looked over and saw Bertha Jorkins laughing at Sirius. "You are so right, Sirius. He is a tool! Did you know that his brother started at Hogwarts this year? Hopefully he will raise the average Cresswell intelligence a bit." Sirius smiled back at Bertha. "Let's cross our fingers for that, Bertha. Fancy seeing you here." He winked at her and she giggled. Bertha turned to her friend and started whispering. "I have no time to see you flirt, mate. I have a try-out to focus on." Remus pointed at the group behind him. "Well you might want to hurry back. It seems that the captain is approaching." James turned around and saw a boy in the red Quidditch ropes walking towards the group. "Yes, I have to go. Bye!" Sirius, Remus and Peter wished him luck.

That whole morning James was busy with trying out for the team. He had to show his flying ability at first. Several laps around the stadium with some obstacles. After that they each stated what they wanted to try out for. There were seven people interested in Chaser, five in the Beaters position, two in the Seekers position and two in being Keeper. "Okay, listen to me. We will let you try-out for those positions, but you also have to try some others. For all that I know you might be a good Beater, but a better Chaser. I want the six of you up in the air, competing three against three. Try to grab the Quaffle from each other and score." James was one of the six. He stepped on his broom and rose in the air. He was playing against Abel, a girl and a boy he did not know. He had two girls in his team and both of them were already on the team last year. Yes, thought James! This is in my advantage. They know each other and the game, if I show them I can play well with them I increase my chances. The sound of a whistle being blown filled James ears and he focused on the getting the Quaffle. Abel was speeding up to him with the big ball under his arm and he was grinning. "Try and beat me, second year." James sped up on his broomstick and made no gesture of getting out of his way. At the last moment James pulled his broom to the right, punched the Quaffle with his fist out of his arm. He heard Abel curse and break. One of his teammates dropped herself to catch the Quaffle and gave James a thumbs up when she got back up. James sped up and knew that Abel was right on his tail. He zigzagged around and kept an eye on the Quaffle. The girl threw to the other girl. James saw that the other team left an opening on her right so he quickly dove down. He sped up again and appeared on her right side. "I am open if you need me to." He yelled. She nodded that she understood and said: "Keep an eye on the Quaffle." James avoided another member of the opposing team and soon they were close at the goals. He saw that the girl swirled to her left, but moved the Quaffle to her right. A diversion! James thought. He kept close to her, but still continued. The path was almost free. The other team was getting closer to her now. They were only a few seconds away and they were ready to get that Quaffle. At the last moment she shot to her right, threw the ball to James and went straight up. The other team looked in confusion, they were so close.

James caught the ball without any trouble and sped up to the goals. He could score. He saw that Abel was flying towards him on his left and looked at his teammates. One was above him and the other one behind Abel. He kept racing to the goals but decided to throw Abel of his game. He waited until the very last moment and when he could almost touch Abel he changed his broom and inhibited. Abel shot right past him, giving James a clear path to the goals. James sped up, raised the Quaffle and threw it as hard as he could. The Quaffle went right through the middle goal post and he rose up, fist in the air. His teammates were next to him and complimented him. "Good job! Now let's score again."

James scored another two times and his team members each four. The opposing team only twice in total and were now grumpy. Their play became a little bit rougher. Abel was now trying to bump James from his broom. At that moment the whistle sounded again. "Cresswell, come down immediately. And you too, Potter." The captain yelled. James gritted his teeth, what mistake did he made? This was not his fault. He stepped of his broom and faced the captain. "What, in Merlin's name, do you think you are doing?" He said to Abel. "I am trying out for Chaser." Abel answered. The Captain's eyes narrowed. "And being a smartass will help you get there, you mean? That is not what I was talking about. You nearly threw him of his broom. Why?" He demanded an answer. Abel shrugged his shoulders. "I just tried to get the Quaffle." James snorted. "The Quaffle was not even near me when you did that." The captain looked at him and then back at Abel. "That was foul play. I do not want my team to play like that. We win fair and square, no dirty tricks. We leave that to the Slytherins. I give you one last change. If you play like that one more time, your try-outs are over. Do you understand that?" Abel swallowed and nodded. "Yes, I do." Now the captain looked at James. "And for you, I know I said that I wanted everyone to try out for other positions as well. But I think I know what I want to do with you."

James swallowed hard. His heart started beating. This could either mean he made the team or that he saw enough to know that he was not good enough. But how could he think that last part? It had to be the first one. And James feelings were confirmed when he heard him say: "Congratulations, you can take a place in the stands to watch the rest of the try-outs. The first training is the day after tomorrow, after dinner. Do not be late." James felt his breath escape. "Thank you! I won't be late!" He threw his broom over his shoulder and walked quickly to his friends.

"I knew it!" Sirius said. James grinned. "You are absolutely right. They wanted me to stop the try-outs." Now this made Sirius look surprised. "They didn't? But I was only joking. They decided you don't need to try-out anymore?" James nodded. "But, why?" Remus sighed. "Are you really that thick now Sirius? He already has a spot on the team that is why. He is messing with you." Sirius started laughing. "Okay, you got me. I thought they did not want you." James said quite proud: "Why wouldn't they? I am probably one of the best here. The people who were on the team last year still have to try-out." He felt his chest go big and he went with his hand through his hair. "Okay, I am going to send my mum and dad an owl now with the big new. They will be pleased."

That week James went to his first training and he loved it. The girls he played with were also on the Gryffindor team, they found two new Beaters and a new Seeker. "I have a good feeling with this team! I truly think that we can win the cup this year!" One of the girls, James thought her name was Minnie, said: "You think that every year, Peter." Everybody laughed. That evening James got his parents answer.

 _Our dearest James,_

 _We cannot tell you how proud we are! Congratulations on making the team, we knew we had it in you. Hopefully all will go well during your practices and games. Of course we know that you only want to win, but already playing is a great honor. Do not forget this! And also do not forget your homework, we know how much you love Quidditch._

 _We want to give you a present for making the team. We are pleased to let you know that you may keep the owl that this letter was send with. It is yours. We deposited some extra money in your vault, so you can buy a cage and food from the Daily Prophet._

 _Once again, congratulations. We miss you and feel free to come home once the Christmas holiday is near. But we understand if you would want to stay at school._

 _Many hugs and kisses,_

 _Mum and Dad_

"Sweet!" James shouted. Peter looked up from his book. They were in the common room. Sirius was in detention, for once without James. And Remus was in the library. "What is it? Did you win something?" He asked. "Kind of! My mum and dad gave me an owl. This owl to be precise. For making the Quidditch team." Peter looked at the owl. "That is so mental! It is a pretty one as well." The owl was sitting on James' shoulder. The feathers were hazelnut, his eyes were yellow and she was quite big. "Hey you!" James said softly to the owl. He nibbled on his finger. "You are mine now. I need to find a name for you." He screeched softly. "Well I guess you are tired now, so why don't you go to the Owlery?" James walked to the window, opened it and the owl flew away. At that moment Remus came back, looking a bit stressed. "What is it, Remus? Did they not had the right book on your homework in the library? Hey! Remus?!" James said his voice growing louder. Remus almost walked past by them without noticing them. "Oh, hey guys. Sorry, I was distracted. What did you say?" He said bewildered.

James looked at his friend. "Mate, are you okay?" Remus looked up. "Yes, yes. Of course, why wouldn't I be? It is my mum again, okay. I need to go back home tomorrow for a couple of days. So I better start packing." Remus wanted to walk off to the dormitory but James stopped him. "Remus, are you sure it is your mum this time? She has been sick for quite a while now and I have never seen you react like that before." Remus swallowed and he looked at James with a pleading look in his eyes. "I just, eh I …" He stammered. "I just didn't anticipate or expected to need to go back already so soon, okay? I thought I still had some time before this would happen." James became worried. "Before what would happen, Remus? How sick is she at the moment? She will live right?" Remus avoided James' eyes. "I guess so. I am sorry, I just need to be alone right now." James stepped away from his path and Remus went upstairs to the dorms.

"He is getting crazier and crazier, every single time he has to leave. If he were a girl I would blame it on his menstruation. Quite funny, he acts just as crazy and he also leaves approximately every four weeks." Peter said while looking at the stairs where Remus just disappeared from. James frowned. "Can you say that again please?" Peter looked at him. "What? That he is on his period?" James shook his head. "No, no. That last part. About those every four weeks." Peter said up straight. "Yes, did you not notice last year? It was almost every four weeks he left. Maybe it his mum's period. Maybe she gets crazy or really sick and he has to help out." James scratched his head and then went with his hand through his hair again. "You are right. It is indeed almost every four weeks. It's weird and there is something not right. We got to find out what exactly."

* * *

Lily walked with Alice, Marlene and Mary to their Charms class. "Hey guys, are you excited that is Halloween soon?" Mary asked. "It is literally my favorite holiday!" Alice nodded. "Yes, I love it. Especially now that it is on a Saturday. So that means no classes and an amazing feast!" Lily herself was looking forward to Halloween, but more because of the time of the year. That meant that Christmas was slowly getting closer. She loved the time around Christmas. And she also seriously considered staying at Hogwarts this upcoming holiday. Experiencing two weeks of freedom, snow and Hogwarts during Christmas and New Year's would be amazing.

When they walked into the classroom they were discussing the holidays. They sat down and behind them were Remus, Sirius, Peter and James. They heard some serious whispering. Lily turned around to see what the buzz was all about. "You cannot do it in here. You have no idea what it does." Remus whispered. Sirius said something back that Lily could not understand. Sirius looked like he did not care what Remus said. And usually when stuff like this happens Lily somehow felt that she would share Remus' opinion. Lily was so close to interrupting them and asking them what they were planning to do. But she contained herself. She would not interfere. If you don't know about it, you cannot get into trouble, Lily told herself.

The class flew by quickly. The Sonorus charm was the subject this time and Lily found it quite entertaining. She was daydreaming about using it on herself back home and driving Petunia crazy with facts about the wizarding world. She would lose her mind, there was no way she could ignore Lily when she was blasting in her ear.

The next subject was Defense Against the Dark Arts and Lily was taking notes on how to treat a werewolf bite. "It is quite nasty, isn't it?" Mary said to Lily. "What?" Lily had no idea what she was talking about. "Those bites! Look at these pictures!" Mary pointed to the textbook. "I would not want to be on the other end of that! Can you imagine being a werewolf? You will literally have no life. Everybody will be afraid of you or hate you or maybe even both. There is no way you will ever get a job and let alone go to school!" Lily looked at the pictures. "Yes, the picture are quite gross but I cannot imagine what you must be going through if you are a werewolf every month. The rest of the time you are just a normal wizard or witch and just because of that you might not get a job?" Mary shook her head. "You don't understand. They are dangerous! What if they bite you?" Lily could hardly believe it. "How big is the chance you will be around them if you change? If you know about their 'problem' then you can make sure you are not around them during full moon and then it will be fine right? You probably already met one and you just didn't know." Mary looked at her with a mixed expression. "You have a point, but somehow I would just not want to be near a werewolf somehow. They are not themselves when they change, they have no idea what they are doing. They kill people!" At that moment a chair scraped loudly on the floor behind them and somebody walked away. Lily looked at the door and saw that Remus had left the classroom in a hurry. She turned around to talk to a struck Peter. "Is he okay?" Peter still looked puzzled at the door. "I don't know. He seemed okay. A bit nervous during the class, but nothing weird. He was fine during Charms. Maybe he ate something bad or he has to go the toilet." Behind Peter Lily saw that James and Sirius were discussing something while looking at the door that Remus just got through. They called Peters name and started whispering with the three of them.

Lily had no idea what was going on, but she tried to forget about it. Instead she focused on her essay. It would be homework for whomever did not finish theirs. And she was desperate for a quiet, relaxed evening. Their second year was even busier than their first year and she had no idea that was possible. The class flew by way too fast and Lily could not finish her essay. Marlene sighed. "This is going to take up my whole evening! And my parents just send me a book that I would love to start reading. It is about woman in Quidditch from the last 50 years." Lily was interested. "Could I borrow it sometime? Of course after you are done with it!" Marlene nodded. "Of course! You could even start already if you want. I also have that astronomy homework that you already finished." This gave Lily an idea. "How about a fair trade? You can look at my astronomy homework and I will read your book? That is a win-win for both of us." Marlene looked at Lily. "I cannot do that. You can borrow my stuff every time you want and I don't want anything in return. And you worked so hard on that stellar." Lily shrugged. "Well if it can help you, why not?" Lily did not mind when her friends would copy her homework. She did not gave it to them all the time, but sometimes when an assignment was difficult it would help them as well. At that point Mary appeared. "What did I hear about you turning down homework, Marlene? If she declines it, I will gracefully accept the offer!" She said. "If Marlene can see it, of course you and Alice can as well! We will do it tonight, after dinner."

That night Lily finished her werewolf essay while the others were busy with astronomy. They were sighing heavily when they put down their quill. "That is done! Finally! Thank you so much, Lily!" Alice said. "You really saved us here! We better get started on the werewolf essay now. Luckily this is not that hard. I think we should be done within 45 minutes or so." Mary yawned. "Hopefully, it is already 8.30!" She, Alice and Marlene grabbed their werewolf essay, their textbook and started reading. Lily stretched and looked at the cover of the book that Marlene had given her. At that moment the portrait opened and she saw that James, Sirius, Peter and Remus walked in. Lily remembered Remus leaving the class and she was wondering what had gotten into him. He looked quite the same as usual, not ill or anything. He was always skinny and pale. They sat down with the four of them on the other side of the room and Lily watched them over the edge of her book.

Remus looked nervous around to see if someone was watching them and hushed the others. The other free seemed to pressure him into telling something. Remus looked down at the ground and shrugged. Sirius threw his hands in his hair and leaned backwards. James bended forward and said something to Remus and Peter petted him a bit on his back. What on earth are they doing? Lily thought. Why were they on him so much? Is Remus okay? Lily was getting a bit worried. She cared for Remus, he was always nice for her. The other boys were so strange. At one point they were just too much too handle and the next moment they were nice and helping you with stuff. But now they seemed to push Remus to telling something he might want to keep for himself, they might even bully him into it! This was enough! Lily stood up but at that moment the boys did the same thing. They walked to the staircase and disappeared out of Lily's sight. "What are you doing? Why are you standing?" Marlene asked. She looked at the point where Lily was looking. "Are you okay? Do you need something from the boy's dormitories?" Lily sat down again. "Nah, I thought I had to do something. But I guess not." Marlene looked confused at her, but decided not to say anything. Lily was trying to read the book but her thoughts were shifting to Remus. Hopefully he was okay. Tomorrow she would ask him, but for now she would let it rest.

The next day she had hardly any time to speak to Remus. During the classes he was on the other side of the room and when she tried to catch him after Transfiguration he already left to go the toilet. She could have gone after him and wait outside the toilet, but that would lead to her friends asking questions. And Lily did not feel like explaining what she saw last night to her friends. Somehow she had the feeling they would not care and would find it weird that she tried so hard now to talk to Remus. She could already hear Marlene say: "Do you like him? Is that why you want to talk to him so badly?" She did not like Remus, not in that way. He was always kind and he was smart and those are features Lily valued in a person. He seemed more reliable then James, Sirius and Remus.

After dinner she got a distraction from professor Slughorn. "Miss Evans! How pleasant to see you! How are you doing, my dear?" Lily had to swallow her potatoes quickly before she could answer him. "I am good sir, thank you!" Slughorn petted her on the shoulder. "Good, good! I was wondering if you have any plans this Saturday. I would love to throw a little get together and it would be my honor if you could attend it. Feel free to bring someone, of course if you want to. So what do you say, are you available? There will be some guests attending that are very prominent." He looked so delighted with himself. Lily saw her friends looking at her. "I think I am free that evening." Lily said a bit hesitantly. "Splendid! There is no need to eat before you come, I will serve food. The dress code is a bit fancy, but nothing like black tie. See you this Saturday Miss Evans." And with those words professor Slughorn walked away.

"What was that about? Why did he ask you and not us? He barely even acknowledged us!" Mary said a bit offended. "Isn't it clear?" Alice said. "Well maybe not if you do not know how Slughorn is. My sister told me before I joined Hogwarts. I asked her tell me everything about the teachers she knew. And she told me that Slughorn sometimes gives these parties and only invites the best of the year. On these parties he mingles them with other important persons he knows. He has a lot of connections for example on the Ministry and in the Quidditch world. Big chance you will meet someone famous. And you are obviously the best of our year, so of course you are invited. I wonder who else he invites. There are never any first years somehow. Maybe he finds them too young or something." Lily had to process all of this. It was obviously a compliment to be invited, but somehow Lily had the feeling there was more behind it.

At that moment Alice her voice brought her back to reality. "Who are you going to take with you? Are you going to ask a boy?" Lily became a bit nervous. Where they expecting from her to bring a boy? Couldn't she just come alone or with one of her friends? "I don't know! Even if I want to ask a boy, who would it be?" She saw that Mary was already scanning the tables. "What about Dorcas Meadows? He is quite good looking and he is smart." Lily looked at the Ravenclaw table. "I never even said hi to him. How do you expect me to ask him to escort me? I don't even know him, what if he gets the wrong idea that I like him in that way?" Mary soothed Lily. "It is okay, nobody expects you to. We will find someone else. Maybe a Hufflepuff! Caradoc Dearborn maybe? If you tell him it is just as friends he will understand." Alice and Marlene were also scanning the Great Hall. "Wait no, what about Benjy Fenwick? He is quite handsome." Marlene said a bit dreamy. "Why don't you ask him, if you like him?" Marlene blushed. "Like him? Where did you get that idea from?" Mary laughed sneaky. "The way you said his name, you do find him attractive, don't you?" Marlene blushed again and looked relieved when Alice started talking. "Well, maybe Peter Adrian or Colin Stebbins? If you ask one of them you probably get the second one for free. They are inseparable." Mary clapped her hands. "What about one of our own? A Gryffindor!" She looked down the table and got a sly smile around her lips. Mary whispered: "I think Peter would wet himself with excitement if you asked him." Lily snorted disapproving. "That is not nice, Mary. And I would never do something like that. I just need someone I know and I can have a good time with. And apparently it has to be a boy." And at that moment it hit Lily.

"Severus." She whispered. "Snape? You want to ask that Snape boy?" Mary said. Marlene kicked her underneath the table. "Oy, why did you do that?" Mary asked angry at Marlene. "We all think it, I am just honest enough to say it out loud." Lily felt a bit betrayed. Were her friends talking about her behind her back about her friendship with Severus? Why would they do that? Was it so bad that she cared for him? But did she really? He was barely in her thought the last month and she hardly spoke to him since he asked her to help him with James and Sirius. They said hi to each other in the class, but both of them were occupied. He was off with his friends doing his homework and Lily was busy with her homework and friends. "Sorry Lil." Alice whispered. "We don't talk about it that often, you know. One time it came up and we just expressed that he has this weird vibe. Somehow I get the chills when I see him. But it is not just him, also his friends. They show certain behavior and have this attitude. Did you know they threatened Frank?" Lily was a bit shocked. "Threatened? Are you sure?" Alice nodded. "Yes, they were with quite a few. Avery grabbed him by his cloak while Rosier threatened to hurt him. And when Frank asked why all they said was because he was walking their way. Aubrey then said that McGonagall was coming so they released him. Frank was quite scared to walk alone after that." Lily was surprised. "Did he went to see McGonagall at least and tell her?" Alice shook her head. "I told him to do that as well. But he says it will only make things worse. He said he is 'safer' since he is a pureblood. But you should see the stuff that they on Muggle-born." Lily felt a knot in her stomach. She was muggle-born. "She is right you know." Mary whispered. "Greta Catchlove, you know her right? She is in our Herbology class. She got her skirt already lifted several times that her bottom was exposed. And nobody claims to do it, but the group with Avery, Wilkes and the others and yes, also Snape, are always laughing the hardest and yelling things. She literally jinxed her skirt to be pants." Lily felt nauseous. "That is awful! Why would they do that? I can honestly not imagine that Severus would do something like that." Mary shook her head. Alice and Marlene looked a bit with pity at Lily. "Well, why don't you ask him? If he really is your friend he will be honest about it. But Lily, just watch out okay. I just see him looking at you sometimes, with this gaze in his eyes. It is almost some kind of hunger. Maybe it is because you are a girl or maybe it is because you are muggle-born, I don't know. But to be honest, I don't know which one would be better." Alice said.

"Thank you for your concern, ladies. I appreciate you watching out for me. But I know him even before Hogwarts and he always helped me. I will just go and talk to him. This is not something that he would do, it doesn't sound like him. Maybe he is just mixed up with the wrong friends. If that is the case he might need me more than ever now!" Lily stood up, grabbed her back and started walking to the Slytherin table. She was amendment to get to the bottom of this.

 **Authors Note: Sorry for the long wait again guys! But next chapter will be a very, very long one!**

 **So James made the Quidditch team, yay! Probably his first Quidditch match will be in two or three chapters.**

 **And Lily, she just might have witnessed Remus telling his big secret to his friends. More about that in the next chapter! And in the next chapter we will see a bit more Severus and Lily. Severus is now hanging out with everyone that will be a Death Eater once they finish Hogwarts, of course he is going to be one as well. So my plan is also to slowly show their behavior. They are influenced by their families and the news from outside. Voldemort is slowly getting more powerful. So their believes are already showing during their time at school. Not that extreme yet, but still enough to be racists, discriminating and cruel.**

 **If you have any thoughts, please leave a comment! And fav/follow to see when my next big chapter arrives!**


	15. Chapter 15 Second year adventures

"Severus, can I talk to you please?" Lily was now behind Severus who was sitting at the Slytherin table. He turned around with great speed when he heard her voice. "Hi Lily, yes of course. Let me just grab my bag." He turned around and started to gather his stuff. Lily felt that the Slytherins were watching her closely. The pushed her chin up trying not to look intimidated. "What do you think that muggle wants with him?" She knew they were whispering, but just loud enough for her to hear. "Do you think she even knows enough magic to be here? You can smell the dirty muggle stanch miles away." Lily swallowed hard and kept her chin up, deciding to pretend not to hear them. Luckily Severus was done and they walked away. "Let's go in here." They stepped into an empty classroom. Lily sat down on a desk and Severus was standing a few steps away from her.

"It's been a while since we've seen each other." He says, but his eyes are fixed on the floor. "I know. I am sorry I didn't come to see you." Lily said softly. "Well, I just thought you might be mad with me." He let his hair fall down in front of his face. Lily felt confused. Mad? Why would she be mad at him? "Why would I be mad?" She asked. "I don't know. I asked you for help with Potter and Black and then the whole thing with Longbottom happened. I know your friend likes him and my friends went way too far. I just thought you might be mad at me for not saying to them they had to stop, since you hate bullies." Severus spit all of this out really fast and at once, trying to get it out. Afraid when he would stop he would not be able to finish the sentence. Lily looked at him. "I didn't know about that incident with Frank to be honest, up and until 15 minutes ago. And yes, that is part of the reason I wanted to talk to you as well. Alice said that you were there as well and I was just wondering what your part was. I cannot imagine you bullying anyone, let alone hang out with bullies. You got bullied at elementary school and you hate James and Sirius for bullying you as well. So it seems kind of hypocritical to me then. But I want to know your kind of the story. I care about you." Severus head shot up, looking with big eyes at Lily. "I know how it looks and I don't know what to say. My friends have these opinions about some students at school. They are not afraid to show it. But honestly, they seem rough in their way of showing it, they are nice and funny. They know so much about the world and life besides Hogwarts."

Lily felt a fire starting in her. She could honestly not believe this. Did Severus not know that their opinion about those other people also implied to her? Did he not know what they just said about her? "Sev, listen to me. I find it really hard to believe that they are funny and nice. Do you have any idea what they just said about me?" Severus shook his head. "They were asking themselves out loud if I had enough magic in me to be here. Since I have apparently _this_ muggle stanch all over me, apparently." Lily saw to her content that Severus eyes grew big with shock. "But you don't have a muggle stanch on you. You smell amazing." Lily blushed. That was a little bit weird to hear from Severus. She decided to ignore this comment. "Well, they said all of that. And if they say that about me, someone else and do awful stuff to my friends, why should I believe that your friends are nice? I honestly thought that you would choose better friends and otherwise dumped them if they are awful people. Especially with your history and strong opinions about others. What is the difference between James Potter and Sirius Black and your friends?" Severus got a bit of a mad look in his eyes when she mentioned those names, but Lily continued. "I defended you against my friends. I said that you were not like that at all. But to be honest, I am kind of doubting myself right now. Are you still the same Sev that I got friends with? That I honestly care about?" Severus cheeks flushed red and he became nervous. He started fiddling on the end of his sleeves that were already a little bit raffled. "Yes, Lily please, yes I am. I know what it looks like. That is why I thought you were mad at me and I kept my distance towards you. I would not have blamed you if you had been mad at me. Sometimes I want to say something about their behavior and ask them to stop, you know. It is just hard, since they are with a lot more and they are in the same house. We have every class together, we sit in the same common room and eat at the same table. We are literally almost every minute together. But I promise you, I will do it now. You are right. I hate bullies and I should step up to them if they go out of line." Lily looked at him. His eyes were pleading for Lily not be mad at him. She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. "Okay Sev, if you promise me you'll do that from now, that is okay. But honestly, I just want to know one more thing. Do you share those opinions?" Severus swallowed. "Not necessarily." He looked down now, his hair covering his face again. "What do you mean by that?" Lily asked. She sounded a little harsher than intended, but this was a vague answer.

"Well, I just think that sometimes somebody can be better at magic then somebody else and sometimes is has something to do with where that person is from. Maybe not necessarily a muggle family, but just general in our wizard kind. And it just happens that is usually the case for some people who are from a muggle family, maybe. I don't know really." Lily could not believe what she just heard. "You know that I am from a muggle family, right?" She shot at him. "I know and that is why I said for some people and not everybody. Not you, not you at all. You are one of the best witches I know." Severus sounded desperate. "Don't get me wrong, I don't mean you at all." Lily sighed. "But don't you see, Sev? You don't mean me because I am your friend. But what about somebody who is not your friend? What if we were not even friends? Would you still say the same thing? That's what scares me! You and your friends having these opinions about people and sometimes you even hurt people." Severus interrupted her: "No! I never did hurt anyone. I would never lay a finger on anyone unless they came for me first." Lily looked with narrowed eyes at her friend. "I don't know, Sev. You same to be blindsided. What is the difference between me and someone else?" Severus was quiet. "I don't know, Lils. I really don't. I just know that I missed you the past weeks. I would never hurt anyone and I know my friends seem like that. But it is a two-way street. Sometimes they start it, but sometimes they get taunted as well. I promise you that I will stand up to them from now on. I want to stay true to myself and you."

Lily heard footsteps out in the hall. Dinner was probably over. She looked at Severus and his pleading eyes. She saw how much he needed her and how much she also missed him. He was barely on her mind the last month or so, but somehow she felt a sharp sting in her. Lily thought back about their evening together back home, how he comforted her on the Hogwarts Express after her fight with Petunia and how he answered every question she had with patient. Maybe he just needed guidance again. Just like how he needed when she met him. Maybe it was also a bit her fault, she barely talked to him. They just had to hang out more and she had the perfect moment for that. "Okay Sev, thank you. I do believe that you will do that. You are strong and that is what I admire about you. And I missed you too the past month. We should hang out more, okay? Why don't you join me this Saturday? I got invited to a gathering that Slughorn is throwing and I could invite someone along. It would be great to be with just the two of us again." Severus looked relieved. "Yes, I would love that. Where do you want to meet up?" Lily laughed a little looking at him. He seemed just as excited as a little puppy. "Well, there was no need to eat. There will be food there. So maybe around 7 in the Great Hall?" Severus nodded. "Okay, great! I will go now, I still have some homework to do. But I will see definitely this Saturday. I am looking forward to it." She grabbed her back and started walking to the door. Before she opened the door, Lily remembered something. "Oh and before I forget, it is semi-casual. No need for a tux or dressrobe, but something a little bit fancy." She knew that Severus did not own anything like that and somehow she enjoyed his shocked expression too much while she closed the door. Somehow she still had to process all of this. Severus had changed and hopefully not for the worst. It was only a month or so since they really talked, so even if he thought differently about stuff, maybe Lily could maybe still help him. All she needed was some time. She was going to stick by her friend side no matter what. With this determination she walked to the Gryffindor Tower.

The last few days of the week flew by fast. Before Lily knew she was getting ready for Slughorn's party. She had borrowed a navy blue dress from Marlene and Mary was doing her hair. "Do you want a braid? It will show of your long, swan neck perfectly." Lily laughed hard. "My what now? A swan neck?" Mary put her face next to Lily's and said in a creepy voice: "Yes, your delicate and white swan neck." Lily laughed even harder now. Mary joined her as well and both of them were soon gasping for air. "I thought a lot of things about myself, but never did I ever think that I have a swan neck."

At that moment Marlene and Alice came in. "What are you two laughing about?" Alice asked smiling. "Oh no, Lily! Don't laugh so hard, if you cry you will mess up the make-up that I did." Marlene said. Lily said up straight again, patting her stomach. "Sorry, Mar! I won't mess it up, I promise! Where did you two go by the way?" Alice sat down on her bed. "The library. We tried to find some more information on that Transfiguration homework but I think that McGonagall just gave us our hardest subject so far." Marlene nodded. "All we found were two sentences in one book and it just said something about the incantation. I honestly think that she gave us this because of that prank that James, Sirius, Peter and Remus did." "Well, that wouldn't be fair. Then just give them detention and don't punish the whole class." Mary said while braiding Lily's hair. "I know, but somehow detention doesn't really seem to upset them that much." Alice laughed. "I don't know about that, to be honest. Remus seems pretty upset when he heard it. But then again, it is Remus we are talking about." The four of them all started laughing at the idea of a nervous, sweating Remus sitting in detention.

That evening Lily met Severus at the Great Hall, to the stairs descending to the dungeons. Severus was wearing his black pants, a white blouse and a tie. He looked a little lost, but he smiled when he saw Lily. "You look lovely, that dress looks amazing on you." He said. "Thank you Sev! You look really handsome as well. Are you ready to head down?" They were walking towards the dungeons when they passed some Slytherins. "Who, Severus! Way to go dude." The boys yelled while one of them was whistling. "Do you want me to stop them?" Severus asked. "It's fine." Lily said. "I will ignore them. They are just stupid. Tonight is going to be a fun night." Lily pushed those comments to the back of her head and focused on being with Severus. "So where did you get that tie from?" She asked. Severus smiled. "I borrowed it from Lucius." Lily snorted. "Let me guess, he has like 50 of those?" Severus laughed. "I think you are not far away from his actual amount of ties. He also had a fine selection of bow ties." Both of were still laughing when they arrived at the party.

"My dear Miss Evans! It is so nice to see you made it. And you brought a date. Mr. Snape, good to see you outside the classroom." Lily became a bit uncomfortable. Did she made it clear enough to Severus as well that she just thinks of him as a friend? "Yes, he is one of my best friends, sir!" Severus shifted a bit on his feet when she said this. "Well, who knows? You two are still young!" Slughorn winked at Lily. "Come in, come in! If you cross the room there is the food and there are drinks next to it. And please Miss Evans, come and find me at some point this evening. There are some people that I would love to introduce to you." Lily and Severus thanked Slughorn and walked to the table with the food. "Look at this!" Severus whistled through his teeth. "It looks even better than the food we get during dinner. This is like feast-food." Lily grabbed herself a plate and started loading some food on it. Once she and Severus were done they found a standing table. "Did he seriously invited Bertha Jonkins? Why would you want her on a party?" Severus said. "I don't know. She is quite nice. A bit nosy, but you always get the latest gossip when you're with her. Marlene hangs out with her sometimes. Her older sister is friends with Bertha." Severus nudged his shoulders. "Well, all that I hear is that she tries to sneak in alcohol a lot of times and when she success, she gets way too drunk. But hey, if she gets drunk tonight we might have a good show." Lily looked at him. Why was he being like this? Severus never said stuff like that. He would never enjoy someone's agony or misbehaving. "I don't think I would want to see that." She said stiffly and started eating.

Severus sensed that Lily was a bit annoyed. He looked lost for a moment before saying: "Hey isn't that the prime-minister?" Lily looked up. And indeed, it was Eugenia Jenkins. She was talking with Slughorn while sipping from a fancy, golden glass. Her robes were burgundy and her hair was in a tight bun. "Are you serious? What is she doing her? I have a million questions to ask her. Do you think she would sign something?" Lily was feeling a little nervous seeing someone who was so famous and powerful. Her whole aura was also one big powerful vibe. "You should go to her and say hi." Severus said. "No! Are you crazy? I can't just go up to her and talk? She is the prime-minister!" Lily said. "Of course you can! Why else is she here?" Severus said. He pushed her towards Slughorn and Eugenia. Lily looked back at Severus and he waved that she had to go. Lily pulled her dress straight and walked over.

"Excuse me, professor Slughorn and prime-minister." She started. "Oh goodness, Miss Evans! You scared me a bit there. Good to see you. Are you enjoying yourself?" But he didn't wait for her answer. "Well, it is good that you are here. I can introduce you to this lovely madam over here, our prime-minister Eugenia Jenkins." Eugenia Jenkins stretched her hand towards Lily and Lily shook it. "It is an honor to meet you, madam!" Eugenia smiled. "So polite, Horace. It is a pleasure to meet you. But I did not catch your name." Slughorn put his hand on Lily's shoulder. "This is Lily Evans. One of the best students I taught so far. She is extremely gifted in Potions, but when you see the rest of her grades you'll see it is not only Potions. She is the best of her year, by far." Lily's blushed hard. She had the feeling her cheeks were the same color as her hair. "Well, well! That is quite something if Horace something like this about you. He has a knack for seeing the most-gifted students. But more about you Lily, do you have any idea what you might want to do after Hogwarts?" Lily had never really thought about this. There were still several years to go at Hogwarts and she never really thought about her future after Hogwarts.

Before she knew she was a witch she always wanted to be a scientist. She had the dream of finding cures for diseases and help people. Maybe they had something similar here in the wizarding world. "Well, it is still quite far away, but I would love to maybe help sick people. But not necessarily be a doctor, but maybe more behind the scenes. Discovering the ingredients to a new potion or something." Eugenia nodded. "That is a really good cause, Lily. That is a lovely goal and career. Are you muggle-born, dear?" Lily blushed a bit, but she put her chin up hi and said proudly. "Yes, mam!" Eugenia laughed this time. "There was no attack there, dear. But I love how you are not afraid to show it. There is no need to be ashamed of your heritage and how you were raised. I figured since you used the word doctor. We don't have those here in our world. We have healers, but they kind of do the same thing. But usually young witches and wizards, with barely any experience in the outside world, do not know this term. But if you maybe want to be a healer, please be! If I could help you by the time you need to make a decision, please come to me. You can always ask Horace to contact me." Lily blushed again. "That means so much to me, madam. Thank you so much! I will keep this in mind. I hope I don't cross any lines, but can I ask you one more question?" Eugenia nodded. "You just did, but you may ask me a second one." Lily felt a bit blunt. "Well, I would never imagined that someone with your function and power would be here, at a school party. Why are you here?" Eugenia smiled and looked at Slughorn.

"Well dear, Horace and I go way back. We were both classmates and he helped me out a lot during Potions. And he invited me several times before, but usually I declined politely. But his determination to keep pursuing me to come and attend and his lovely parties are at one point too difficult to pass on. So I decided, why not accept? I don't think that the previous prime-minister would do anything like this, but we are all different. I might be the head of the wizarding world, but I started here at Hogwarts. Just like everyone else. I just want to show that you can make something of yourself, you can aim big and make it big. Even if you are just one of the many students here." Lily nodded. "That is true, madam. You are so right. Thank you so much for this conversation. I won't keep you longer away from the others. I do hope you enjoy your evening." Eugenia extended her hand once more. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Lily. I do hope I see you one day."

Lily returned so Severus. "Did you see that? I just had a full conversation with the prime-minister, Sev! I cannot believe this!" Severus smiled. "I am happy for your, Lils. What did she say?" Lily told Severus about their conversation. They continued that evening with eating, drinking and having fun. It was just like their evenings together in the summer.

* * *

It was their Charms class and the four friends sat down. There was a bit tension between the four of them. Sirius had found a spell in a book and wanted to try it. "Come on guys, this will be fun!" James nodded. He was on Sirius' side of course. Remus was the one who was being against it. "I don't want to have anything to do with it." He lowered his voice. People were coming into the classroom and Lily Evans and her friends just took their place in front of them. "Well you don't have to. I will do the spell and you can just, relax and see what happens. I thought this class was a good opportunity. Since we need to have our wands out anyway." Remus eyes grew big. "You cannot do it in here. You have no idea what it does." Sirius saw Lily shift in her seat and he lowered his voice. "You know I can do it in here if I want to." Remus nodded his head. "Sirius, please. Just listen to me this one time." Remus pleaded. At that moment Professor Flitwick came in the class and everybody silenced. Remus shot one pleading look at Sirius and turned around.

James whispered: "What a blow to the party. Are you still doing the spell? You know I won't stop you, right?" Sirius smiled. "I know. But I might sit this one out. Depends on how the class will go. If it is boring, we might need to make it a bit nicer. Don't you agree?" James nodded. "But doesn't that mean that we have to do that during every class?" Sirius laughed. "You are right, my brother. You are. But somehow this class doesn't feel like it. I hate when Remus is like this. And you, my friend, are one detention away from missing a few Quidditch practices. Just right before your first match." James thought about it. Quidditch was amazing so far. He was fitting right in the team; all the practices so far went great and there first match was slowly approaching. It was against Slytherin. The rivalry between the houses was at an all-time high now. James could not imagine what the team captain would say, or yell probably, when he would have to miss practices or even the match because of detention. "I guess you are right. They would probably chop my head off when I would miss a practice. Let alone the match. Let's just keep quiet for a while, okay? During class! We can still roam the castles at night with my cloak." Sirius eyes began to twinkle. The last few times with the cloak of invisibility was amazing. They visited the Astronomy Tower and watched the night with some food they got from the kitchens. They visited the library to find some spells that they could use for fun or pranks. And one night they visited the dungeons again with the mission to get revenge on Lucius Malfoy. But eventually they got so much more.

A week ago they were walking through the dungeons looking for the prefects. Ever since Lucius Malfoy almost caught them they were after him for revenge. While they were still discussing the finer details of their prank they had a good idea of what they wanted to do. "Let me perform the spell." Sirius hissed at James. "No, I will do it. I am better at this stuff! Just make sure that the cloak will keep us covered. And now hush, I think I hear something." They stopped dead at their tracks. James listened and heard voices around the corner. He nudged Sirius to follow him and slowly them creeped to the corner. And there was Lucius Malfoy and the girl prefect, Cynthia Bonesius. "Are you taking her to Hogwarts next weekend, Lucius?" Cynthia asked. "Yes, Narcissa needs some new quills." While the two of them were discussing what to do on their visit to Hogwarts, James got his wand out of his sleeve. Watch this! He mouthed to Sirius while grinning. "Wingardium Leviosa." He whispered and he points his wand at the sword of a suit and armor. The sword rose high up in the air and it took a few seconds before either one of the prefects noticed it. But Cynthia's eye caught something. She looked up and she screamed. "MERLINS BEARD, IT'S ATTACKING US!" And Cynthia dived down the corner. Sirius was just in time to grab James by the back of his robes and he pulled him with him to the back. Cynthia just passed them a few centimeters between them, this was really close.

And because Sirius pulled James he moved is hand down and the sword also dropped a meter or two. Lucius got his own wand and yelled: "Protego!" It seemed like the sword hit an invisible barrier and it just hang there. "Cynthia, get back here." Lucius said cold. "This is just a stupid prank. And I happen to know who did it." James swallowed. Lucius could not know that they were there right. He checked the cloak quickly, but they were still covered. Sirius looked with a nervous gaze at James. When they moved did the cloak lifted too much and revealed their feet? James thought the cloak had not lifted that much and that they were still covered the whole time, but now he was unsure.

Cynthia returned, shivering and with tears in her eyes. "W-who did it?" She stammered. "Peeves." Lucius said icy with his eyes roaming the air above him. "Let's go to Pringle. He knows what to do with him. Let me just get this sword back." James quickly broke the spell and let Lucius take care of it. Lucius waved his wand and the sword flew back to the suit and armor. "It will be alright. It was just a stupid prank of Peeves." He said to Cynthia. "You know what. Why don't you go back to the common room? Go talk to Narcissa. Tell her where I am heading and I will be back soon." Cynthia nodded and walked off, still shaking a bit.

Lucius started walking towards the staircase. James nudged Sirius again and suggested to follow him. Sirius shook his head and pointed at Cynthia, who just turned around the corner. Let's follow her, he mouthed. James saw a new opportunity. He gave his thumbs up and they followed Cynthia. They had to walk quite fast and still try to be as quiet as possible. Soon they were caught up with her and they were following her closely. She gave the password to the wall and there was a passage shown. She quickly walked through it and James and Sirius followed closely. As soon as they were through the passage the wall was a wall again. James grabbed Sirius at his sleeve and slowly stepped aside. He pointed at the wall, trying to tell him that they were blocking the entrance otherwise. Sirius nodded in understanding.

And now what? It was quite a big happening that they were in the common room of the Slytherins, but it was also quite dangerous. If they would get discovered they would be in big trouble. But they were under the cloak. As long as they are quiet and nobody bumps into James and Sirius they should be alright. James felt a nudge in his side. Sirius tried to get his attention and when James looked his way he pointed at the chairs close to the fire. There all unoccupied except one. James mouth curled into a smile. Snivellus he mouthed to Sirius. Sirius nodded and slowly they made their way over to the other side of Slytherins common room.

It took James and Sirius almost a full minute to get there, while it was maybe a few seconds when you would walk freely. But they had to make sure that they were covered the whole time. They were one wrong move away from being discovered by some Slytherin students. James and Sirius were behind Severus and saw that he was working on his Astronomy homework. His greasy hair was hanging in front of his face and his quill was scratching on the paper. There was a table next to him. Severus' bag was resting against it and on it was one of his finished parchments, an extra quill and his ink. James immediately thought of an idea. He waited until Snivellus was busy writing again and slowly he moved his hand towards the table. He was just a centimeter away from the ink. "Hey Severus." A voice very close behind James and Sirius called. James felt Sirius freeze and he was also unable to move for a second. It was Avery and he was walking towards Severus and also towards James and Sirius. They had to move, right now. If they would stay where they were there was a big chance that either Avery walked into them or somehow Snivellus would discover them. James pushed Sirius a bit and they quickly they moved to the right, where the couch was. A few second after Avery stopped at the same spot where James and Sirius were standing. "Aren't you done yet?" Avery asked. Severus sighed. "Almost, but it took me two parchments. I made a mistake in the beginning and I needed to solve it while I was explaining the rest." Avery laughed. "You are such a nerd, Sev. Why not just start over?" Severus laughed. "I didn't notice the mistake until I was already halfway through. And I did not feel like starting over again. Give me 5 more minutes I am almost done." Avery touched his shoulder and left.

Sirius was pointing a bit furious at the door. You want to go? James mouthed to Sirius. He nodded. James shook his head and pointed at Snape. Sirius shook his head also and mouthed: We are way in over our heads! James shook his head sharp. There was no way he would leave now. He understood Sirius, he kind of wanted to leave as well. But this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Give me one minute. James mouthed to Sirius. He saw Sirius look through the room, look at the door and at Snape. Fine, he mouthed. He held up one finger. One minute! He mouthed. James gave him a thumbs up. Both of them slowly moved towards Snape again. James saw that Severus was reading something while slowly reaching with his quill for the ink. He was not paying any attention where his quill was going. James knew that this was probably his only chance to go through with his plan without raising any suspicion. He grabbed Sirius by his sleeve and dragged him a long a little bit faster.

Just two more steps. James was already reaching out with his arm to the ink on the table. This was all about timing now. He quickly checked if their feet were still hidden and he reached the ink at the exact same time as the quill. When Snape dipped his quill in the ink, James pushed the ink with his finger just enough to make it trip. The ink fell and quickly covered everything on the table. It was all over the book, quill and to James' delight also on the parchment that contained the first part of Snivellus homework. James quickly drew back his hand, felt Sirius' hand at his sleeve and a big tug. "SHIT!" Snape yelled. "No, no, noooo!" He jumped out of the chair, the other parchment fell to the ground. But Snape didn't notice. All the heads in the room turned to him. Avery and Rosier walked to him to see what happened. Sirius was tugging at the sleeve at James' like crazy. Yes, James thought, we will go now. But when he looked at Sirius he saw a sparkle in his eyes. Sirius had no plan of leaving anymore. He pointed at the parchment on the ground. Most of the students were busy again with their own work and Snape was too busy with Avery and Rosier to look at that parchment.

James nodded. Let's grab it! He mouthed. They shuffled quietly to the front of the chair now standing directly behind Snivellus. Sirius made the face that he smelled something terrible and he pointed at Snape. James grinned. He nodded. Yes that filthy git had indeed a weird smell. Avery and Rosier could not see the parchment since Snape was blocking the view. Snape as standing with his back to the parchment. Sirius and James were now directly next to it. Sirius quickly kicked a part of the cloak over the parchment. It was now invisible to anyone but them. Sirius picked it up and gave James a thumbs up.

They were just about to walk away when Avery, Rosier and Snape stepped in front of them. "I must have put my quill too hard in the ink and tipped it over. I didn't pay any attention." Snape said sadly. "No problem. Lucius will be back soon and he knows how to fix this probably. He can clean this spot without erasing your words. Same goes for your book probably" Rosier said. Snape nodded. He grabbed his stuff and turned around. "Wait a minute." Snape stood still. Looked in the chair, next to it and under it. "Where is my second parchment? It is not on the chair, so it must have fallen down. But I cannot find it anywhere." He moved the pillows around.

James decided not to stay around and see what Snivellus did. He now distracted Avery and Rosier. Sirius was thinking the same thing and quickly they walked to the door. They must have made a bit more noise then they wanted, because a few heads turned to where they were walking. But when they could not see anything they didn't pay any attention anymore. Okay, next difficulty. The door. There were two possibilities. They waited until somehow had to leave or come in and use that opportunity or just take the risk and open it. Sirius apparently already decided and opened the door just enough to slip through with James.

Outside the common room they quickly walked to the hallways to the stairs. Once they were upstairs they caught their breath. "O Merlin." Sirius whispered. "I have such adrenaline right now!" He was smiling ear to ear and looked down to his hand. "We got his parchment, James. We stole Snivellus his homework." James was breathing a bit harder than usual, but not as bad as Sirius. Quidditch gave him quite the endurance. "We did it mate. We were in the common room of the Slytherins. We caused some havoc and left before we even got caught. I cannot believe it!" But at that moment they saw someone coming out of the hallway they just got out from. It was Pringle and he was coming from the dungeons. "Who is there?" He said loudly. "I know that there are students here. Show yourself, there is no use in hiding. I will find you anyway." He started slowly making his way to the hiding spots in the hallway. Sirius rolled his eyes and sighed softly. "Let's go to the tower, we might run out of luck tonight." James whispered.

Slowly they walked upstairs and made their way to the Gryffindor common room. When they were in front of the portrait they took of the cloak. "And where have you two been?" The Fat Lady asked. "You know that you are not allowed outside anymore." Sirius rolled his eyes. "We forgot, I guess. Lost track of time. We were studying you know, in the library." The Fat Lady snorted. "Yeah right. At midnight? And now you expect me to let you in?" James smiled politely. "That would be great, if you could do that." The Fat Lady looked at both of them for a few second. "Password." She said shortly. "Coat of arms." James said and the portrait swung open.

James sighed. "I still cannot believe that we actually got away with it last week." Sirius laughed. "So that is where you were with your thoughts. You were far away." James shrugged. "Can you blame me? This class is so boring." James looked at Professor Flitwick. "There are so many more interesting spells than the ones they teach us in our thirst couple of years. To be honest, give me one afternoon for each spell and I know I can do them properly. And here spend several weeks to them." James said while looking bored at Flitwick. Sirius snorted. "Yeah sure, mate. Keep telling yourself that! Maybe should teach locating spells for missing homework. I bet Snivellus would have been happy last week if they had taught us something like that." James laughed. "I bet he would be, yeah! But that would have been our exposure I guess. So I am happy that he didn't know anything like that. Now we still have that piece of homework he needed so badly." Sirius sat up straight. "We should hang it up on our wall, as a token of our victory. Put it in a nice frame. We either do that or we make sure that we give it back to him once we know he doesn't need it anymore." James was already making a plan in his mind. "Well, we know for sure that this Saturday he must have had Astronomy already. It is either today or tomorrow. So maybe we can give the homework back to his rightful owner this Saturday." Sirius started smiling. "I like that! And I like that you have the 'I am cooking up some crazy scheme' look in your eyes." The rest of the class Sirius and James were discussing what the best ways were to give Snivellus his homework back.

But then during Defense Against the Dark Arts something interesting happened. They were discussing how to treat werewolf bites and halfway through the class Remus just stood up and left. "Is he feeling sick?" James asked Sirius, who was sitting next to him. "He seemed fine just five minutes ago. He looked more upset than sick, to be honest." Sirius answered. And all of the sudden it dawned on James. Why Remus left so upset. He would have done the same thing if the whole class was talking about it and could find out. "What is it, James? Why are you looking like you just have seen a ghost?" Sirius asked James. "Sirius, I think I just discovered why Remus is heading home so often. Or at least, he says he is." Sirius looked at the door where Remus just left through and frowned. "I am feeling like I lost you, mate. Tell me!" "I will, just give me a minute to know how I can phrase this right." James felt shocked. Could it really be true? Could it really be that one of his best mates was a …?

It would explain a lot of things. The visits to his house so often, his physic state when he returned and it especially explained his behavior just right now. James went with his hand through his hair. Shit, could this really be true? And if it was true, what would happen? They could still hang out right, or would that be too dangerous? That is bull, James thought. As long as I know Remus he left every month for his mum, so he is one for at least as long as I know him. And I never ever felt unsafe around him. So why couldn't he hang out with him? But could he still attend Hogwarts if people found out? Did teachers know? Does Dumbledore know? Whoever knew, James knew they should be careful with this information. If it is true it meant that nobody could know about it. "Mate, please. You are killing me with your suspense here. What is it?" Sirius asked him urgent. "Peter, listen!" James said. And Peter turned around from talking to Lily Evans and her friends. James continued with a low voice. "I think I figured out what is bothering Remus, but I don't know if this is the right place to talk about it. And we have to especially talk to him about it. If it is true, I want to hear him say it with his own words." James said. Sirius rolled his eyes. "Why so dramatic, mate? Just spit it out already." James shook his head. "No. Not here. Class is almost over and then we'll go to an empty classroom. After that we should find Remus and talk to him." Sirius sighed. "Fine. Once you have something in your head you would never change that anyway. I just hope this class is over soon." Peter nodded. "I just hope he is okay, you know. He might have gone to the Hospital Wing. Maybe he felt nauseous all of the sudden." James shook his head. "I don't think that is it, but he could have felt sick all of the sudden."

After ten long, dragging minutes the class was finally over. The three of them rushed to an empty classroom. "Okay, spill your beans mister." Sirius sat down on a table. Peter sat down on a chair and James leaned against a desk. "Okay, this might sound crazy but hear me out. As long as we know Remus he left almost every month right?" Peter nodded. "Yes, we talked about last time. I joked about him having a period, like a girl." Peter chuckled at his own joke. "Continue! I don't want to imagine Remus using any pads. Thank you for that image, Peter." Sirius said. "This is quite serious, mates. You have seen in what state he is in when he returns right? He looks awful. Like he lost weight or got beaten up sometimes. But what if he is? Not because of someone, but because of himself?" James saw that Sirius and Peter had lost him. "Just say it already alright. I don't feel like guessing." Peter said irritated. "Fine, but don't blame me when I sound too harsh. I tried to ease you into this." James said. "But I think, and I am 99% sure." James was silent for a moment, held his breath and then spat it out. "I think Remus is a werewolf." He looked at Sirius and Peter who were looking back at him. "Just think about everything I just said and the fact that he all of the sudden left during class today. We were discussing the exact thing that he is. He probably had the feeling that somebody could figure it out or something and he was afraid. I would be!" Peter was shaking his head and was whispering to himself. Sirius looked lost in thoughts.

About twenty seconds passed and Sirius finally said something. "I think you are right, James. It all makes sense now. But how could we not have noticed this earlier?" James shook his head. "I don't know. I feel kind of bad. Why does he have the feeling he has to hide it for us? We are best friends for Merlin's sake." Peter stood up. "But what if his mum is a werewolf?" James was surprised. "What? Where is this coming from?" Peter nudged with his shoulders. "Well, he says his mum is sick, right? What if he didn't lie about it? What is she is the one who changes into a wolf every month." Sirius was thinking about it. "Well, that is a possibility. But why would he be home during her transformation? Isn't that dangerous? You would think you would leave the house if someone was turning into a flesh-eating animal, right?" Sirius said airy. James shook his head. "That could be true, if it wasn't for his bruises when he returns. I really think that he is the one who is going through that transformation. And also think that he isn't going home. Why put your parents in danger? No, he is going somewhere where he can transform in peace." Peter grabbed his bag. "Well, there is only one way to find out for real, right? Let's go and ask Remus."

James, Sirius and Peter first visited the Hospital Wing. But he wasn't there and Madam Pomfrey said that he also didn't visit her. Then they visited the library, but Remus wasn't there either. They searched through several more pars of the castle. They even skipped dinner looking for Remus. "Merlin, what is this castle big." Peter huffed after their fifth staircase. They checked the Astronomy Tower, but no one was there either. "Well, I officially ran out of ideas right now." Peter said while he was trying to control his breathing. "There is only one last place that I imagine him going." Sirius said. The three of them nodded and walked to the door of the Great Hall. Once they were outside they walked to the tree near the waterside where they usually did their homework during their first year when the weather was nice enough. There was a silhouette of a small boy sitting underneath it. Once they got closer they saw it was Remus indeed. "Hi mate, how are you holding up?" James asked him. Remus didn't look up. "Fine, I guess. I just felt not well all of the sudden. But the fresh air helped a lot." James sat down next to him. "We need to talk, Remus." Remus looked at James. He had a pleading look in his eyes. "No, James. We really don't. Can't we just go inside and eat dinner?" James shook his head. "You missed dinner, Remus. And we do need to talk." Sirius sat down on the other side of Remus. "Whatever got you going off today, it is fine you know. You know you can tell us everything, right?"

Remus looked at the lake. "What if it is something that I can't tell anyone? Sometimes confessions can change everything for the worse you know." James felt something so much compassion for Remus at that moment. There was no reason for him to punish himself like this. "But sometimes it changes for the better. Sometimes things happen for a reason. Sometimes you don't have to go through stuff alone." Remus shook his head. "No, no, no. That isn't always the case you know? What if it is something so big, so dangerous that it is better when there is nobody around?" Peter sat down in front of him. "Listen, Remus. We are friends. Nothing dangerous, big or scary will change that. But you need to trust us." Remus shook his head even harder now. "No, sometimes you have to suffer so nobody else around you does." Remus said more to himself this time then to his friends.

Sirius sat up straight. "Listen to me, Remus. Let's cut the crap right now. We know. You know we know. And we know you know that we know that you know. So, what does it takes for you to just tell us? Because I can, no we can, promise you that we will not stop being your friends. We will be by your side. We discussed it this afternoon. For us it makes no difference. But we need to hear it from you first, okay?" Remus looked at Sirius. James saw that he was thinking about everything that Sirius just said. They needed to act quickly, before he would change his mind. "Sometimes you can let people in. A little bit of danger is sometimes just what makes life exciting you know. Sirius is right. We will not stop being your friends. There is nothing that could change the way we see you. We know, okay? We just want to hear it from you."

Remus made up his mind. He sighed. "I can't believe I am about to do this. But fine, but not here. I will tell you three everything and then we will see if you still want to be friends with me. I knew it would happen one day. And that might it be the end of my education at Hogwarts. I just hoped that I would have had more than 1.5 year at this school." Remus stood up. "Let's go the tower."

When they entered the common room Remus seemed surprised. "It is busier than I expected." Sirius stood next to him. "No excuses mate. You promised us you would tell everything." He walked to a couple of chairs and couches on their left and sat down. Remus hesitated, but sat down. He was looking around if someone was close enough to hear him. "Come one, mate. You said you would tell us in the tower. Now here we are, where else can you bring us?" Remus shrugged and was counting the pieces of parchment on the carpet. Sirius threw his hands in his hair and leaned back. But James was giving him a different approach. "Mate, if you don't feel comfortable talking here, that is fine. I get it. Let's go to our dorm, okay? For sure we have privacy over there." Remus nodded while Remus gave was rubbing his back a bit. "Okay, off to the dorms I guess. We first searched the whole freaking castle for him, then we found him and now we still have to wait for this. The more time we give him, the more he might reconsider it and we might never hear it from him." James gave his friend a kick in his shins. "Shut up, Black. This is hard enough as it is for him. We need to support and not take a piss out of him." Sirius shrugged. "Fine, let's just go."

They stood up and went upstairs. In their dorm everybody sat down on their own bed. Sirius shifted a bit. "Remus, I want to apologize for my comments earlier. You know I get a bit grumpy when I don't eat. But James is right. I cannot imagine what a burden this must be on you and I am not helping you right now." Remus looked at Sirius. "I understand it, you know. I would be mad also if one of my best friends kept a secret for that long. And I know that you would never judge me, Sirius." Sirius nodded. "Well, now that we have that out of the way. What is this big, dangerous secret you are talking about?" Sirius smirked. "You always know how to lighten the mood, don't you?" Peter laughed. They all laughed out loud.

James looked Remus in the eye. He gave him a smile and a nudge with his head. Remus inhaled deeply. "Well, my story starts when I was just four years old. My dad was working on the Ministry of Magic and somehow they arrested a…" Remus stopped talking. "They arrested a real werewolf. They found him with a pack of werewolves, but he was human. Fenrir Greyback. That is his name. He convinced 99% of the office he was just a muggle tramp. That he was at the wrong time in the wrong place. Little did they know they caught one of the most dangerous of all of them. Only my father had a suspicion. He tried to convince to keep Greyback there until the full moon. And the next full moon was only 24 hours away. But his colleagues made fun him. They said that he was working too hard, seeing things that weren't there. My father got himself so worked up and after a heated discussion he said that werewolves were soulless, evil, deserving nothing but death creatures.

He was dismissed from the room and Greyback was released. An employee walked him to the exit and somehow Greyback escaped without having his memory removed. Usually after questioning someone they erase their memory, but Greyback was smart, very smart. And he was mad at my dad for saying such bad things about werewolves and he wanted revenge. So the next night, he transformed, forced his way into my room and bit me." Remus his hands started to shake now and he was unable to look his friends in their eyes. He took a deep breath and continued the story. Somehow it seemed easier for him to tell it now. "I barely remember anything from that night anymore. I just know I heard a lot of noise outside, looked at the window and saw the most terrifying thing I had ever seen in my life. But by then he was already inside and bit me. My dad was in the room next to me and was alarmed by all the noise. He was in time to get Greyback off me and save my life, but…" Now Remus looked his friends in their eyes one by one. James held his breath.

He could not imagine what Remus must have been through all these years. "But my dad was too late. He bit me and I was contaminated with lycanthropy. I am a werewolf. I transform every full moon." He sighed deeply and James saw a tear falling down Remus his cheek. "Can I ask some questions?" James said. Remus nodded. "Isn't it dangerous for humans to be around when you are in your werewolf form? Where did you transform during your youth?" Remus smiled a little bit. "That is a good question. When I was younger it was enough to lock my door and put a silencing charm on my room. But when I got older, I got stronger and bigger. So soon I could take down my door and windows. My parents put bigger and difficult spells on my room and so far it worked." James nodded. "So you go back home for your transformations?" Peter asked. Remus shook his head. "No, I actually stay pretty close to school. But that is part of a bigger story. The story of how I still got to go to Hogwarts."

Sirius made the gesture to continue with the story. "This is actually quite funny and weird. Before my eleventh birthday somehow Dumbledore found out that I was bitten. He visited our home and before my parents knew it, he was already inside talking to me and asking me stuff about my hobbies. My parents never dreamed of me going to Hogwarts with my condition so they were over the moon when Dumbledore told them I could attend and I would have a safe spot to transform every month. And that spot is in that house outside Hogsmeade. They call it the Shrieking Shack. Above it is that tree that is hitting you when you get to close? They planted that for me, so that nobody would come close when I am in there. And so far it worked."

James had to process all of this information. "Dumbledore knows? Who else does?" Remus shrugged. "As far as I know only Dumbledore, McGonagall and Pomfrey know about it." James nodded. "And now we do as well. How do you feel?" Peter said. "I guess I am happy that I don't have any secrets for you anymore, but I am concerned what you think of me now. I would understand if you would not want to share a room with me anymore, or maybe even a school." Sirius shook his head. "Are you out of your mind? Why would we think that you are dangerous all of the sudden? We are friends since the very first day we met on that train. You never put us in any danger. Do you know who did put me in danger? This guy over here!" And Sirius pointed at James. "Hey, I never did anything without your permission. And 9 out of 10 times you came with the idea." James grinned. "That might be true. I might not recall every moment of the start of every genius plan we had, but it does sound like me to come up with one." Sirius smirked.

"So does this mean that you are not afraid of me? Or think that I am a monster?" Remus asked shyly. "I heard what some classmates said today during the class. And are they wrong? Did you know that I felt pity for Greyback? I thought that it was all a mistake that he attacked me. He was probably just as confused as I was and hurt. When you transform you are in an animal state of mind, nothing like I am now. So I thought that he was too close to our home when he transformed, he didn't get to make it out in time. But then when I was accepted into Hogwarts, my dad told me everything. He said he owed me the truth. He told me that it was no mistake. Since Greyback bit me, my dad was hunting on him. Along the way he gathered a lot of information about his work. How he chooses to be around humans during full moons, hoping to injure as many as he could. He wants an army. Greyback turns people into werewolves and brainwashes them with lies and wrong information. That is his way of recruiting more people to hopefully, maybe overthrow the wizards at one point. He is a sick bastard and I am one of the victims." Remus sighed.

James felt furious. "Well, we will never let him hurt you again. And we are going to help you. We will make sure that you are not alone during those awful transformations. I don't know how yet. But we will be there for you, right next to you." Remus somehow found the power to laugh out loud really hard. Probably because no one in their right mind would want to be close to a werewolf in general, let alone during full moon. "Don't you know how dangerous it is for humans to be right next to me when I am a werewolf?" And then James said with a devilish grin. "Well, maybe we shouldn't be humans then when we are right beside you."

 **Authors note: Sorry guys for the long wait! I was on a holiday to my family in Israel, swamped at my internship and now busy with studying for my re-sit. I need to pass this time! But this one is extra long and kind of special! Becaaaauseeee...**

 **They finally know that Remus is a werewolf. I hope I did justice to the story! I loved writing it! I am halfway through the next chapter already and I try to finish asap. Please review and follow/favorite. In that case you will be updated when the next chapter is out!**


	16. Chapter 16 Second year adventures

Remus looked flabbergasted. "I have no idea what you are talking about. I am lost." Sirius looked thoughtful at James. "I think I know where you are getting at." He said. "A couple of nights ago we found something out about McGonagall." "What was it?" Peter asked. "Well, she can change into an animal. A cat I believe." Peter's mouth fell open. "A cat?" He asked. "Yes. She is a registered animagus. Usually they don't teach us about this stuff until our third or fourth year, but James and I have our ways of finding things out." Sirius grinned. "And I also do remember James saying: Oh that is so cool. I wish I could do something like that!" James nodded. "And what is a better excuse than our best friend? You never hurt any animals do you?" Remus shook his head. "Nope, but all the animals flee if I get close." Peter said: "Well, we will take the risk for that. But does anyone know how to become an animagus? I guess it is a long and difficult process. We might need to include the Ministry in this. But we are not off age yet, so what now?" Sirius stood up. "You worry way too much, my friend. We don't need to tell anyone, we will just do it ourselves! We can find it. We just need to find the right book in the library." Remus laughed. "Well, that is where you probably will be stopped. If books like that exist at Hogwarts, they are probably in the restricted area. And no way that a teacher is going to give you their signature for something like that. You better make up a very good excuse." Now James stood up. "Now you worry too much, my friend. We don't need permission for the restricted area. We will just in there and find that book ourselves." James and Sirius were smiling like crazy now, while Remus and Peter were looking confused.

"My dear Remus and Peter. Please behold!" James went through his trunk and grabbed something. "Let me introduce you to my cloak of invisibility." He drew the cloak around him and disappeared completely. Peter gasped for air and Remus was looking in awe at the spot where James just disappeared from. "Merlin's beard! Is this why the two of you sneaked off so often since we got back at school?" Remus asked. "You were gone so many more times compared to last year and the times you got detention were so low! Now I know how. You never get caught because of that thing." Remus looked with a mixed look in his eyes at the cloak. "It's so effective for so many things, but also quite dangerous."

"Well, let's go out with the four of us tonight. We will go to the Restricted Area of the library and find the book that we need." Peter said happy. "I don't know if it covers up all four of us, you know. We can try, but three might be the max." James said. "But let's find out." The four of them got together and James draped the cloak around them. If barely fitted, but if they bend over and did not walk to fast it could work. "Okay, we will go with the four of us tonight. But we really need to be careful and watch out. I don't want Pringle to find us and that I lose my cloak." And that night they waited until the common room was empty before leaving it. The four of them sneaked to the Library and after a 45-minute search they found two books that could help them with their plan. They returned to the tower and decided to wait until the weekend. There was only one day left with classes and this weekend they would read what the procedure was to become Animagus.

The Friday went by really slow and finally the classes were over for the day. They quickly ate their dinner and headed upstairs. They locked the door and opened the books. "Okay, let's read! What do we need to do!" All four of them read both parts in the books twice. They were quiet for at least an hour and Remus was pacing around. Sirius was lying on his bed and James was trying to vision everything in front of his eyes. Peter was still reading and scratched his head now and then.

After a while, Remus spoke. "So… If I understand it right. It will take us forever? How in Merlin's name are we supposed to get all this? We can get most of it, but what about the rays of the moon? With no interruption? And then an electrical storm? That can take like forever. You guys cannot do this! This is way too dangerous. Where will keep that potion? And saying those things every sunrise and sunset? Impossible. We will get caught! They will recognize it and know what we are up too. No guys, this is way too dangerous!" Remus was now almost in full panic-mode. "Remus, chill! We'll be fine! We can probably find more information about the next electrical storm when we check the weather forecast. And have to start at least one month prior, but a little bit more. Yes, maybe we achieve it next year or the year after, but that's fine! Again, we just have to make sure we will do everything in the amount of time that is necessary and no to extend it that much. Trust me, we will be fine!" Sirius was trying to comfort Remus. James looked at his friend. His face looked sad. "Remus, trust us. We can always quit if we want too. It might be too difficult for us or impossible. But at least we'll have fun trying!" Remus shook his head. "It's not that. It's just that I am the reason why you three even think about doing all this stuff. Do you have any idea how many rules we'll break? We'll get expelled for sure if we get caught. And for what exactly? Me? I am not worth it. I am a monster, anyway. I don't understand why you just won't admit this and stop being friends with me."

Peter started arguing with Remus. "Why would you say something like that? We don't think you are a monster!" Remus didn't look like he believed Peter. "Come on Remus, from all four of us you are probably the one who would never hurt anyone. But you might need to wrestle for that spot with Peter." Sirius said. "And furthermore, do you honestly believe that we would stop being your friend because of this?" Remus nodded. "Of course I did. My parents always tried their hardest that no one would find out about me. They tried to give me at least some kind of childhood. But with them being so careful and afraid that people would find out. It kind of taught me that I needed to do the same. Do you honestly think that I can find a job after Hogwarts? If someone would hire me, they would eventually find out about my condition and I would lose that job. I don't think I will ever succeed in society." James shook his head. "That is rubbish. My dad owns his own company. He will get you a job if you need one." Remus smiled a little now. "I honestly thought that you would hate me once you would find out. And I hoped just for the best that you three would keep your mouth shut about it and not tell anyone else. The idea of leaving Hogwarts and losing my friends would be too much for me I guess. I never even thought about going to Hogwarts. Let alone have friends here."

Peter stood next to Remus. "Do you really think that we would stop hanging out with you because you are supposed to be a big scary monster? You know about my biggest fear, right?" Remus laughed a little. "Yes, you are afraid of cats. It is kind of silly." Peter nodded. "It is, but somehow I cannot stand around those animals. They are unpredictable. And yet, my mum still got a cat. She told me the only way to get over my fear is to face it. I still don't like them, but at least I can be around them and accept them." Sirius started laughing really hard. "Peter, did you just compare a werewolf to a cat? That is cute. You would totally freak out if you would see McGonagall as a cat. But he has a point though. I honestly believe that you would never hurt anyone, human form or werewolf. We trust you Remus and we care about your well-being. Someone who loves chocolate as much as girls do, fold their socks neatly before going to bed and showers with their flip-flops on I don't consider them much as a danger or threat." James nodded. "Remus, we are friends and we will always be friends. Whatever happens to us we will have each other backs." Jokingly James added. "So I want you to stop complaining and enjoy the fact that we still want to hang out with. We want it so much that we even decide to break the laws. No, not just the rules of Hogwarts but literally the laws from the wizarding world." Remus couldn't help but smile. "Fine, I will stop complaining. But you I do think that you have no idea what you are risking." Sirius grinned. " You think that, don't you? Well, I think we are risking getting expelled from Hogwarts first thing. Then after that we would probably need to go to a hearing at the Ministry of Magic and explain our actions. We would be lucky if you just get a fine and our wand would be snapped into two. But I think, especially since we wanted to be unregistered animagus, we could get send to Azkaban as well. But I have no idea if they would do that to children." Peter saw a bit white and green in his face. "Azkaban? They wouldn't send us there, would they? We are just children, just like you said." Sirius shrugged. "I think we would be fine with the Azkaban situation. But we would probably lose our wands and never get a job or something like that." Sirius said it so relaxed that James had the idea that it would not bother Sirius. Somehow he felt a great respect for his friend. He honestly lived his life his own way and did everything he wanted to do. That was the kind of life that you should live. People would always ask things from you and want something from you. There is always someone to keep in account with you. Having an attitude like that was kind of a good thing. Who knows when your life would stop? It could be suddenly and when you would life your life the way you want did it really matter how old you would get?

"We need to make a list of everything that we need and try to get it. I have the feeling we need to raid Slughorn's provision cupboard for this as well. Then we need to make a sort of agenda when we need to do what and the time it takes. That mandrake leaf is easy, but keeping it in your mouth with spitting it out or swallowing will be hard. The potion will be fine I guess. But doing that incantation every single day at sunrise and sunset is kind of difficult. Especially since all of us, not Remus of course, need to do it. And then we will need that grass, which will be a search but I am sure we can find it. But the most difficult thing will probably that electrical storm. How often does it occur? We need to try and find more information about it. When was the last one? Are there any predictions about the next one? We might get a bit of an idea about when the next electrical storm might be so we know when to start with the mandrake leaf and potion. If the next electrical storm was in six months, we could be ready by the end of the year. Before that even. But somehow I don't have the feeling that we will be that lucky." Sirius stood up. "Yes James, that is the spirit! And as long as we won't get caught we are lucky enough. How about we will write all of this down and get those books back into the Restricted Area?" Peter nodded. "I can go with you if you want." Sirius nodded. "Let's go. James, you are okay with the fact if you borrow your cloak right?" James nodded. He was fine with it. He trusted them enough to know that they would take care of it.

Sirius left with Peter. Remus sat on his bed and looked out of the window. "Thank you. I never expected this from any of you. I would never ask this as well." James sat down in front of Remus. "We will not let you fall, mate. We are in this together. Do you have any idea how cool this story will be on birthdays? And when I can tell my children? Or even better, just show them?" James lay down. "What animal would I be? What do you think? I think I might be a big, strong lion! Or an eagle! That would be so cool. I could fly!" James started fantasizing about flying in the sky. "You could also be a pig. Or a spider. Or something slow, like a turtle." Remus started teasing him. "I never thought about it. You could end up as a elephant as well! That would be crazy! There is no way to hide you then. I think I would rather be a spider or a turtle, then an elephant." James and Remus were discussing the pros and cons of animals when Sirius and Peter returned.

The next few days it was kind of a little bit less exciting that Remus was a werewolf and the plan was to become unregistered, illegal animagus. James had to train everyday now for Quidditch. There were only a few days left until James his first day. He had the feeling he should feel nervous about his first game, but he didn't. He knew there was a big chance they would win. The team was playing great together. Slytherin had to bring their A-game if they wanted to beat Gryffindor. James was now packed with homework, practice and classes. As soon as he was done practicing he showered, did his homework and went too bad. Sirius was complaining now that James had almost no time at all to roam the castles at night with him. James really wanted to, but somehow the feeling of missing the first Quidditch match was enough to keep him in his bed at night. "Sirius, go with Remus or Peter tonight if you want so badly. I will do that stuff again after tomorrow. I won't miss the first match because I got detention." James said to Sirius the night before the game. "How about you miss the second match?" Sirius said. "You could trade your detention for another Saturday right?" Remus sighed. "I don't think they will fall for that. It is a punishment. And what better lesson to teach someone to take away something he really wants?" Sirius rolled his eyes. "Fine. I will go out tonight with Peter and Remus." Peter swallowed his water too fast and started coughing and Remus just shook his head. "Not going to happen, mate. I need to finish this and then I will go to back. And by the way, I wouldn't want to miss the first match of the season as well." James nodded viciously. "Why would you want to miss seeing me play? I will be the MVP of the game." Sirius rolled his eyes again. "Sure mate. There is no denying you are good at Quidditch, since you are the only second year student that made the team. But MVP? James shrugged. "Big chance! My goal is to score enough times that we will win even without the Snitch." Peter finally stopped coughing and said with a raspy voice: "I am sure you will do excellent tomorrow, James." James smiled. "Thanks Peter! And here, have some chocolate. It will help your throat." Remus looked up from his essay. "Do you have chocolate, James?" James smiled. "Yes, I do. You want a piece as well?" James gave Peter and Remus a piece of a chocolate frog. "I already have this card. Someone wants Dumbledore?" James asked. Sirius nodded. "You can give it to me. Regulus just started collecting those." James handed the card to Sirius.

"How is your brother? I barely see you two talking." James said. "He is fine. He is enjoying his life here. He has some nice friends. His homework is always done on time he says. And apparently my mum does send him stuff like candy." Sirius his eyes became darker and his face got a painful expression. "But that is fine. I don't even want anything from my parents. All they give me are problems, comments on my hair and headaches. It is probably because he is in Slytherin or something you know. I try to avoid home as much as I can, but somehow even in the limited time I am there they still make sure I don't forget that I was sorted into Gryffindor. Well, sucks to be them! I rather am in any other house than in Slytherin. I might even leave Hogwarts if I had to switch to Slytherin." Sirius sounded so resentful that James had not the heart to try and make his friend feel better. It was probably the best to leave him now. He looked at Peter and Remus and he saw that they thought the same thing. Sirius changed the topic. None of the four friends knew what to say to him right now so they were kind of relieved. "Well, guys. But how about we go check out the inventory from Slughorn soon for that potion? We should probably wait until at least Sunday. James here has his big game tomorrow." James was taken with surprise. How could he have forgotten that? That was literally the only thing on his mind the last few days. Probably the idea of trying to become illegal animagus was a bit more exciting than his first Quidditch game. James shook his head. "I need to go to bed soon. Tomorrow they want to meet very early to make sure we still understand the strategy. I swear guys, I dream about that strategy now." Remus smiled. "I am sure that is good enough to win the game."

* * *

Lily was answering a lot of questions from her fellow Gryffindors in the common room the next day. The evening before when she returned from Slughorn's party she had filled her friends in on all the events. And when she came to the part of talking with the prime-minister everybody was in awe. "O Merlin, Lily! I cannot believe that you talked to the prime-minister. That is amazing!" Alice said. Mary and Marlene were very impressed. And of course, once Mary knows something the rest of Gryffindor knows as well. She loves to gossip. Everyone knew about Lily's encounter with the prime-minister the next day after breakfast and everyone wanted to know what she was like. "Could maybe next time not tell so many persons?" Lily sighed after answering a kind of harsh no to the 8th person who asked if she had could get his or her sibling a job at the ministry. Mary smiled apologetic. "Sorry Lils. I only told Benjy and Bertha. They heard me talking about it with Marlene." Marlene rolled her eyes. "The only other person in Hogwarts who likes gossiping more then you know is probably Bertha. If your plan was to make sure 80% of Hogwarts was up to date before breakfast then you indeed told the right person." Mary laughed. "Hey, it was never said that it should be a secret. Did you want it to be a secret, Lily?" Lily shook her head. "Not really a secret. But I never expected all this attention. I really wished it never happened right now." Lily hated being in the center of attention because of something like this. "I just met her, you know? That could happen to anyone. There were also other people at that party, who probably talked to her as well." Marlene smiled at Lily. "Yes, big chance! But we don't know anyone else. And with all those these things happening outside of Hogwarts it is kind of a big deal that you met the person who is responsible for protecting us all. And I think you can put it more into perspective that you met someone famous because you are muggle born. We grew up with prime ministers. She is one of the few woman who ever made it this high. It was a big happening when she was elected and this time most of us were old enough to understand it." Lily nodded. She understood that it probably meant a little bit less to her compared to the rest of the school. She was only a part of the wizarding community for over a year and she still had a lot to learn about it.

"You are right. How are things on the wizarding world right now? I read the Daily Prophet of course, but sometimes I have the feeling that they don't cover everything." Alice nodded her head. "They don't indeed. My mother usually send me letters with more information when she thinks that the Daily Prophet is not publishing everything. I love her to bits, but she is driving me nuts with all these pieces of paper. At least 60% is just her opinion about that event." Lily laughed. "You should let me read them sometimes." "Well, my mum and dad both work at the ministry. They don't send me letters to tell me about stuff that happens. That would jeopardize their jobs. But once I am home they usually fill me in on most of the stuff that happened to them." Marlene said.

"My dad works in Diagon Alley. He has one of bars there. My mum helps him on the weekends and during the week she is at home. They get a lot of guests who are telling my parents a lot of stuff. Even stuff that they shouldn't know, but hey, they are drunk when they confide my parents. My parents barely talk to me about it. They say it is too dangerous for me to know and they act like they also know nothing. But they talk with each other about it and I eavesdrop on them." Lily laughed. Of course Mary did that. She was so nosy! "So I hear a lot of stuff from both sides. Most of the people who are drinking there are just like us, but sometimes there is some high-level minister or someone who is agreeing with everything that is going right now. And they start blabbing once they consumed alcohol. I think it is getting a lot worse than we really think out there." Mary looked out the window where the sky was grey with clouds at the moment.

Lily shivered a little bit. She read the newspaper sometimes, but they made it seem like they had everything under control. Once a week you read about a family that went missing or someone who was found that, but they never mentioned that someone was behind it. Usually they made it seem like it was something, like a heart-attack or a disease. "So what is exactly what is going on right now, out there? How did this all happen?" Mary, Alice and Marlene looked at each other. Marlene started. "Well, it is quite a story. But there are so many questions and plots. Nobody exactly knows how all of this happened. I only know this because of my parents. They told me some stuff about why all of this happening right now. And it all starts with this one man who gained a lot of followers all of the sudden. According to my parents these are his friends from Hogwarts, but they are not entirely sure. That is because my mum and dad used to work with some of them and according to some gossip they might still be working with some." Lily was a bit in shock. "How could that be? I know about the missing persons and the murdered families. How can somebody who openly supports murder and kidnapping still work at the Ministry of Magic?" Marlene smiled sadly. "I know, right? You are nothing but right. But it is not that simple. There are a lot of wizards who think in pure-bloods, blood traitors and muggleborn. Sadly they consider only pure-bloods to be good enough to have the 'luxury of magic' and they think it is a shame that we have to hide our abilities for muggles.

They are sure that muggles are stupid and ignorant. How else could they not see magic? It happens in their lives almost on daily basis." Lily thought about her parents and was about to protest. "Sst, Lily. Let her talk. You will understand." Alice said softly to her. Lily closed her mouth and put her hand down. "Thank you Alice. Of course this is not true. Whoever read the 'The Philosophy of Mundane: Why the Muggles Prefer Not to Know' sees that it just something that they naturally ignore or find a logical explanation for themselves. But whenever someone uses that book as an argument, the pure-blood families hit back with comments like: It is just a book, it is just an opinion. And sometimes they even mention their book. The 'Pure-Blood Directory', which lists the 28 remaining pure-blood families. They think because their last name is mentioned in some book that some once wrote they are superior due to their blood status.

Do you know, Lily, how Eugenia Jenkins became Minister of Magic?" Lily shook her head. "I always assumed there were elections or something and she was chosen." Marlene nodded. "Yes, in some sense. She replaced the previous Minister Nobby Leach. He had to quit due to health reasons. But I know that there are rumours going around that he was poisoned by someone, who wanted to get him out of the way. Disagreeing with the fact that someone like him had that much power and also power over the Pure-Bloods. He was muggle-born, you see. And this is probably true, since they choose Eugenia Jenkins and that was a surprise. Nobody expected the minister of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures to become the Minister. But she was neutral and everybody knew that it was not her who was plotting against Nobby Leach.

In her first few years she seemed sympathetic towards the minorities and she spoke for social justice. Minorities started to demonstrate and riot. They demanded right and one of the famous marches was the one from the squibs. Can you imagine being a pure-blood wizard and all those people who are not worthy of magic are demanding more rights and probably getting them? It was their worst nightmare. And that is how many pure-blood supremacists who did not join the ranks of the followers of, what we call now, the Death Eaters. Nonetheless they gave their wholehearted support to the cause that this guy is trying to achieve. To rinse the wizarding world of anyone who is not pure-blood, who is a blood traitor, a Mudblood or just not worthy of magic." Marlene looked sad when she finished the story. Lily had a lot to think about.

All of these things happening right now while she was safe at Hogwarts. But how safe was she really once she would be done with school? She was no Pure-Blood and probably worse than a blood traitor in the eyes of the Pure-Bloods. And how safe was her family? Alice must have seen that Lily was worried. She put her hands on Lily's knee. "Lils, there is no need to worry. You are perfectly safe here at school. And there are not only people out there who are attacking traitors and muggleborns, you know? There are people fighting against the Death Eaters with the blood traitors and the muggleborns and they are with a lot you know. There is a fight going on and it might get even worse before it gets better. But at least there are people fighting." Lily smiled. She gave Alice's hand a soft squeeze. "Thank you! You are right. And who knows, maybe once we are done with Hogwarts there will be peace again!" Alice smiled and nodded. "Yes, indeed! We still have more than five years to go. A lot can happen in five years."

The following week was filled classes and the story about the threat that terrorized the wizarding world was kind of being pushed back into Lily's mind. Hogwarts made you feel perfectly safe and isolated you from the outside perfectly fine. Slowly the weekend came closer and the castle was filled with tension. The first Quidditch match was about to happen and it was a big one. Gryffindor against Slytherin. Lily did not really care for Quidditch that much. The few flying lessons they got in their first year were her least favorite lessons. But somehow with the whole school so impatient and busy with the match made her look forward to see Gryffindor win.

That Saturday morning Lily woke up from someone who was panicking their room. She opened her eyes and saw Mary pacing up and down, while throwing her hands up in the air. "How am I supposed to support Gryffindor when I misplaced my scarf? I cannot find it anywhere!" Lily sighed and put her head back down. She looked to her left and saw that Marlene and Alice were sitting in their beds watching Mary with amusement. "Mary, calm down. First of all it is just a scarf. Second of all, it is probably somewhere here. So just take a deep breath." Alice said while rubbing sleep out of her eyes. Mary grumbled something under her breath that was probably not very nice. Marlene nodded. "You are honestly the worst person to be around in the morning before breakfast." She jumped out of bed and went into the bathroom. Mary opened a closet and screamed a little bit. "Yes! I found it!" Lily rolled her eyes. "Okay, so if you just had looked before you started getting all worked up I would still be asleep right now." Mary sat down in the chair next to the door. "Yeah, you are right. I am sorry girls. I am just so annoyed in the morning." Alice looked at Lily and both of them started laughing. "We know!" The both of them said at the same time, which made them laugh even harder.

After almost an hour the four of them were dressed and ready to go down to get breakfast. In the hallway it was quite clear that Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff supported Gryffindor as well. Dirk Cresswell got his hands on a Gryffindor scarf and made a bandana out of it. Bertha Jonkins and her friends made a banner in the colors of Gryffindor with the words: Go Gryffindor Go! There was one table in the colors of Slytherin. All the way to the left in the Great Hall was the Slytherin table and they were chanting some song that they made up. Lily sat down next to Alice and she loaded some eggs and toast on her plate. At that moment James, Peter, Sirius and Remus sat down next to the four of them. "Morning, ladies!" Sirius said smiling at them. Mary giggled a little bit. Lily felt that Marlene had just kicked her shins. "Good morning. Are you ready for the game, James?" Alice asked. James nodded. "Yes mam! More than ready to kick some Slytherin butt!" Lily looked at James to see if he was nervous or not. He seemed very calm, but it was his first game and he was the youngest one on both teams. His fingers were not shaking, he was laughing with Sirius about something and he was able to eat. James looked sideways and noticed Lily looking at him. He winked at her and smirked a bit. Lily felt her cheeks flush red and she quickly looked down at her plate. Somehow unable to eat another bite.

The boys quickly left the Great Hall again. James had to be there quite early to discuss some last minute moves. Lily looked at them leaving and sighed. "What is it?" Alice asked. "Nothing! Just thinking about the game. I hope we win!" Alice nodded but immediately distracted by someone behind Lily. "Hey girls. Ready to go?" It was Frank. Mary looked at him. "I didn't know you would join us today." Marlene kicked Mary again. "Mary, shut up. You can't talk to people like that. He is more than welcome, of course." Marlene smiled at Frank. "Sorry, she doesn't mean it like that. Sometimes the words that leave her mouth are probably such a surprise to her as it is to us." Frank laughed. "It's fine. I was invited to go with James, Sirius, Peter and Remus anyway but I wanted to see if maybe Alice wanted to join me. Maybe just the two of us." Alice giggled and she flushed red. "Sure. If you are okay with that, girls?" Alice asked, her eyes looking hopeful. "Of course, Alice! Go and enjoy!" Lily said. Looking how happy Alice was right now there was no way they could say no. Alice stood up and left while talking with Frank.

Quite soon after Alice left Lily, Mary and Marlene were walking to the Quidditch field as well. It seemed like the whole school was going to watch. "Hopefully we'll get a good seat!" Mary said. They climbed the stands and found half a row empty in the middle of the stand. "Yes, right next to the goals of Gryffindor. This is good!" Mary said happy. Slowly the stadium filled with people. After 10 minutes the commentator's voice filled the stadium. "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! And welcome to the first Quidditch match of the season. This is Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Are we ready to welcome the players with a warm welcome? First up are the players of Gryffindor!" The Gryffindor team entered the field in their red robes. Almost the whole stadium exploded with a great thunder of people clapping, stamping and yelling. The whole team waved at everyone. "And now give it up for the Slytherins!" Only the teachers and the Slytherins in the public were applauding for the team. A few Gryffindors were even booing.

And then the game started. From the first second it was already excited. The Slytherins had captured the Quaffle and were heading for the goals of Gryffindor. Lily saw them getting closer and closer. But the Chasers of the Gryffindor team were right behind them and speeding up. "Come on guys! Get that Quaffle back!" Mary yelled. One of the girls was right next to the Slytherin Chaser. He looked at her and tried to push her of her broom. She embraced herself, pushed back and somehow managed to get him to give up the Quaffle. It fell down and Lily saw that James dived to the ground to get it. He was speeding up. With the speed that James was approaching the ground it almost seemed like he would not be able to get the Quaffle in time. "Oh no, oh no, oh no! I can't watch!" Marlene was covering her eyes. "He is going to hit the ground!" Lily's breath was stuck in her throat. "Come on, James!" She whispered. And at the last moment he caught the Quaffle, pulled his broom back up and shot towards the other side of the pitch. "Yes!" Mary yelled while pumping her fist in the air. "Lily, you can breathe again and Marlene, you can watch again. I think he did with his fingertips." Lily's breath escaped her mouth. She saw how the three chasers were racing towards the goals on the other side of the pitch. But the Slytherins were right behind them, trying to get there in time. James passed the Quaffle to his right, shot down and threw the Chaser behind him off his game. The other Chaser started circling around her and James was just beneath her. There were three possibilities for the Quaffle. The Chaser kept it herself, she either would throw it up to her teammate or drop it for James to catch.

She looked over her shoulder to see where the Slytherins were. They approached their goal faster and faster. There were only a few seconds left. The Slytherins pushed their brooms to the limits and shot forward. The big guy stretched his hand to reach the Quaffle and he was almost there. "NOW!" The girl yelled. And the three Gryffindors shot op, zigzagged, shot down and were with the three of them next to each other now. They shot as fast as a bullet to the goalposts and their distraction worked. The Slytherins followed them up and to the right. But lost them when they zigzagged and shot down. They couldn't keep up and couldn't prevent that Gryffindor scored their first goal.

"YES!" The stands with the Gryffindor supporters were yelling, applauding and stamping. "Ten – zero for Gryffindor! After an amazing move from the Gryffindor team. This is tactics and it worked. They might win if they can keep this up. The Quaffle is now with the Slytherins who are racing towards the goalposts of Gryffindor. Oh, that was so close! A Bludger just missed one of the Chasers of the Slytherin team. It was a good try though. It looks like the Keeper will have to stop them from scoring." Lily was trying to keep up with everything but everyone was moving so fast. Before she knew it the Quaffle was shot at one of the goalposts and the keeper was just in time to kick it away. "And a last-minute safe from the Gryffindor Keeper with his foot. They got lucky this time! Gryffindor back with the ball. Potter is away and he ducks and avoids a Beater from the Slytherins. He has a head start on the rest of his own and opposing team. That kid is fast! But watch out! AUCH! That has to hurt. Potter has been hit with a Bludger in his stomach." Lily saw how James collapsed forward, dropped the Quaffle and could hardly stay on his broom. "NO!" She yelled. "Violation!" Mary shook her head. "That is allowed, Lils. That is where the Bludgers are for unfortunately," Lily shook her head. "But that is dangerous! What if it knocked him off his broom and he fell?" Mary shrugged. "That is Quidditch! Sometimes people get severely injured. They know what they sign up for."

The game was going head to head. Slytherin scored three times after each other. Gryffindor only once. The score was now 30 – 20 in favor of Slytherin. "And it seems like the Seeker of the Gryffindor team has spotted the Snitch! He is speeding up. Yes, he definitely sees something that the Slytherin Seeker is missing!" Lily looked at the Seeker. He was speeding up fast and she saw it as well. The Snitch was halfway the middle goalpost of the Slytherin goals. He was closer than the other Seeker. Unless the Snitch flew away there was no way he wouldn't catch it. "One of the Beaters sends a Bludger his way, but he easily dodges it. It is only a matter of a few meters now. He stretches his hand. And …

YES! He caught the Snitch! The match is over. Gryffindor wins with 170 against 30." The crowd was going wild! Lily was jumping up and down with Marlene and Mary. "We won, we won, we won!" They chanted. "Tonight there will probably be a great party in the common room. I can't wait for it!" Mary said. And she wasn't wrong. That evening the whole common room was decorated in the colors of Gryffindor. Somehow James and Sirius managed to get a lot of food and drinks. Everybody was having a good time, chatting and laughing. The Gryffindor team were the heroes of the evening. Not only did they win their first match, but they won from Slytherin. "Take that, little snakes!" Sirius says loudly. The whole common room starts yelling and laughing. "To the best Quidditch team that Hogwarts knows!" Sirius says while lifting his drink up in the air. Everybody raised their glass to salute the team. "Cheers!"

 **Author note: First of all I am sorry that is has been so long since I posted something. Things has been hectic since the summer holiday. I needed to make some major decisions about my education, final thesis etc. Also I experienced writers block a couple of times. I find it quite hard to write from both perspectives. So I might change that. What do you guys think? Should I stick with writing from both perspectives? Or if I should choose, which one should I do? Both have their pro's and cons.**

 **The reason why I started this fanfic is because I would love to have a story out there about the Marauders and their years at Hogwarts and the once they got to experience after that. Mostly I ship Jily, but they aren't a couple until their seventh year. I love writing their stories, their experiences at Hogwarts with each other and away from each other. I would love to explore the relationship Lily and Severus had, mainly because I read a lot of times that Lily could have loved him if he didn't had such an appreciation for the Dark Arts.**

 **I also want to apologize since there could be a couple of mistakes in there. Especially since it has been so long since I posted anything, so it could be that things sometimes don't add up for example. Just bear with me, the big picture is more important.**

 **Please comment what you think, what you like, if you would love to see something, if you have a question or just have feedback. I appreciate it! If you want to make sure you know when I post something again, please follow/fav me!**


	17. Chapter 17 Second year adventures

"Okay, guys what are we going to do for Sirius' his birthday?" James said. "He has been kind of down lately with his family not writing him. So we kind of need to cheer him up somehow." Remus, James and Peter were sitting in the common room. Sirius was in detention for pranking some Slytherins in the hallway. James was in the toilet at that moment and Sirius was waiting for him outside. When James came out of the toilet Sirius was getting yelled at by McGonagall. "Why in Merlin's name did you do that, Black? Those poor students. They had to go to the hospital wing. Pulling someone's underpants up with magic until they are lifted from the ground is NO joke. 10 points from Gryffindor and detention the upcoming three evenings, including tonight." Sirius shrugged and just said: I thought they asked for it. Like literally almost begged me to do this to them." McGonagall's nostrils widened. "Begged for it how exactly, Black?" Sirius shrugged. "Well, today is Halloween. That is kind of a special day. I thought they dressed up as victims of the biggest and maddest wedgie ever!" McGonagall said something about this not being funny and told Sirius not to be late that evening. Sirius turned to James and grinned. James laughed. "Who did you hit?" Sirius grinned. "Some third-years Slytherins. And you understand that I thought that they begged me right?" James laughed even harder. "Yeah, yeah. Somehow I understand why you did it. I would have joined you for sure, if you just would have waited." Sirius shook his head. "They were walking away, I had to act quickly. Next time we'll get them both and we won't be caught." James high-fived his friend.

"If only we were allowed to already go to Hogsmeade. That would be awesome." Peter sighed. "Well, we can, right" James said. "We have the cloak." Remus shook his head. "Bad idea, guys. Really bad. We would literally be the only students there, since it is not an official day for a visit." James shrugged. "If we visit The Three Broomsticks we would be in trouble, but I guess that nobody cares at the Hogs Head." "Well, I won't join then. Then you three go. If we get caught we might get expelled. And that chance is big!" Peter was thinking. "But what if we sneaked at an official day? Four extra students don't get any attention. Plus we would be blending in in the crowd." James slapped his friend on his shoulder. "That, my dear friend, is a great idea! We just take him out next visit. You will join us then, right Remus?" James looked with a pleading look at his friend. Remus rolled his eyes, sighed and said: "Fine! I will join. But as soon as we run into teachers, I have dibs on that cloak to hide myself. Every man for himself." James laughed. He knew that his friend didn't mean that. "Sure thing, mate. You can be the first one underneath cloak."

Sirius returned later that evening while cursing at McGonagall. "That old witch. She made me work with Pringle! And I have to do it for another two nights! He made me clean a hall, the whole hall. Not with magic, no! By manual labor. This is slavery, it should be against the law." Remus snorted. "You know that slavery is against the law, right?" Sirius sat up straight. "That's great! That means that I got a case. They can't make me do this." Remus snorted louder now. "And you do know that this is not slavery, right? This is punishment and they are allowed to give you a task like this." Sirius rolled with his eyes. "You are such a bummer sometimes, Remus. Just let me complain. You know I won't do anything anyway. It just sucks that I have still two nights to go. Thank Merlin that I am done the day before my birthday. Nobody wants to have detention on his birthday." James got comfortable on the couch. "You did work on Halloween, though." Sirius was now the one who snorted. "I don't care about Halloween. Well maybe about the feast a bit. Because they prepare some really fine food then! I am happy that I could attend it." He rubbed his belly thinking back to tonight's feast.

James heard something loud and he looked up. He saw that Remus helped himself to some chocolate. "You okay there mate?" James asked. Remus nodded, his mouth too full with chocolate to talk. He swallowed after a few bites. "Yes, but somehow the transformation was quite rough this time. It was difficult." He ate some more chocolate. "Just a little while longer, friend. And then hopefully we will join you to make it easier." James said soothing. Remus smiled and ate the chocolate silently.

Sirius his birthday was a good one. James and Sirius roamed the castle after hours, just like old times. They got some butter beer from the kitchen and went up to the Astronomy Tower. They sat down, overlooking the lake and the forest and enjoyed their butter beer. "Did you know that we still have to use that Bat-Bogey Hex that I found in one of those books, James?" James nodded. "Yeah, I forgot about it. We wanted to do it the day we found out Remus was a werewolf. Kind of distracting finding out something like that." James said airy. Sirius laughed. "Kind of, yeah. But Remus was also the mood killer for that hex. He tried to convince us not to do it and I really want to try it out. The description is crazy. Buggers that become bats and crawl out of your nose? That sounds amazing!" James tried to vision huge bats climbing out of people's nostrils. It wasn't something he did want to experience. "Well, it seems really uncomfortable. It could even be painful. So we need to make sure we try it on someone who we don't like." James was thinking. "Wait, tomorrow during Defense Against the Dark Arts. We can use it on the Slytherins. That would be perfect. We are sitting in the back of the class, the whole room is dark and I think we might get away with it." James saw his friends eyes light up. "James, you genius. Yes! But we cannot tell Remus nor Peter. Peter will act all guilty and Remus will know that something is up and try to stop us again." James shook Sirius his hand. "Deal! Should we go back to the dorms? Nothing spoils a birthday like being busted by Pringle."

The next day Sirius and James acted all innocent during breakfast, but normal. "Did anyone finish their Transfiguration paper already?" Peter asked. James nodded. "I found it easy, to be honest." Peter rolled his eyes. "That is because you think Transfiguration is easy. You already changed your animals into object. I barely succeed in changing a feather in a needle. McGonagall must think I am hopeless." He sighed. "Mr. Pettigrew. For the record, I don't think you are hopeless. You just need more guidance. How about some extra classes for your during the week?" McGonagall had appeared behind him and apparently heard him complaining about her class. Peter did not expect McGonagall to hear it and out of shock he started choking on his sausage. "Mr. Pettigrew, for goodness sake." Professor McGonagall said. Peter was now slowly turning red and was not able to get the piece of sausage out of his throat by coughing. "Anapneo!" McGonagall said while flicking her wand. The sausage shot out of Peter's mouth and hit Remus on the side of his head. James and Sirius roared with laughter while Remus his ears went red. "Sorry, Mr. Lupin. Apparently Mr. Pettigrew still knows how to aim while choking. But once again, Peter, I am more than willing to give you extra classes if you need any. If you are interested, you know where to find me." And as soon as she came, she left. Her cloak whipping behind her. "Oh Merlin, why did she had to hear that? I am already scared of her." Remus was sighing. "Oh yeah, Remus I am so sorry! It was never my intention to hit you with my breakfast." Remus shrugged. "It is fine. I know you didn't do it on purpose. Next time aim for someone else please." Peter laughed nervously. "Will do! But I think it's time to go class." The four of them left the Great Hall and headed down to the dungeons for their Potions class.

The morning was quite boring during their classes. They had to continue with a potion they already started two weeks ago. James and Remus were working on theirs and Peter and Sirius were working on theirs. "Good job, you two!" Slughorn said when he came to look at everyone's potion. James grinned and high-fived Remus. "Together with Mrs. Evans and Mrs. Pescus and Mr. Snape and Mr. Avery you are now the furthest along." Slughorn returned to the front of the class. "May I have your attention please? I just had an idea. How about we make this a bit more interesting? There are several couples here who are neck to neck and everything is possible. There are two classes left before the potion is supposed to be finished. So the couple who has the best potion once it is over will win something. Something worth your while I dare to say." James saw Slughorn grinning. "What do you think the prize will be?" James asked Remus. "Maybe we will get a vial with something of our potion. But I have no idea what I would do with a Memory Potion. I guess it could maybe be used before an exam, but that would be cheating." James was thinking. "I hope it is something else. Sounds a bit boring if we could have this. But we will see. I love a good competition." Remus smiled. "We will win, we just have to beat Lily though. She is really, really good." James shrugged. "So are we!" James focused on his book and the recipe again. He was happy that Remus was his partner with this. Remus was smart, calm and precise. If they just kept it up like this they could win. But what if they had extra time? Slughorn would never let them work on their potion after classes, but who said he had to be there? James and Remus could go under the cloak at night and just keep working on it.

"Remus!" James whispered. "I have an idea!" Remus lowered his head a bit. "How badly do you want to win?" Remus shrugged. "It would be fun, but it wouldn't be the end of the world if I didn't. I would be happy for Lily as well." James looked at Lily who was sitting three rows in front of him. "But what if Snivellus would win?" James asked. "I would like that a little bit less, but if he has the best potion, it is only fair." Remus said. James sighed. Why was his friend so honest and good all the time? "Listen, how about we sneak in here at night, under the cloak, for one or two evenings and keep working on our potion? In that way we would be win for sure." James saw some wrinkles in his friend's forehead while he was thinking about it. He was sure Remus would say no, but his friend surprised him this time. "Okay, let's do it. But only once this week and once next week." James was surprised. He didn't expect that Remus would say yes, let alone go twice. "Okay, sweet! We'll do that. Now we will win for sure."

The rest of the class they worked on their potion. There was one big interruption when Wilkes and Aubrey made their potion explode. Slughorn ran to their table to put out the fire. "To the hospital wing with the two you." And he send them off. "The rest of you, please continue quietly. And make sure that you add the right ingredients!" after their Potions it was time for lunch. "I know we need a double hour for our potions, but it is so long and boring!" Sirius complained. "I know, right." Peter agreed. The four of them were following the scent of food towards the Great Hall. "I am starving!" James said. "I need to bulk up. Practice is about to start again this week." When they sat down James made sure that he sat next to Sirius. "Ready for Defense Against the Dark Arts?" He whispered. Sirius nodded. "You still know the hex?" James nodded. Both of them smiled.

"Finally a break from the Slytherins." Sirius said. "Before we have to spend another class with them." He loaded a lot of food on his plate. He started to eat. Remus was carefully loading up his plate, separating the potatoes and the meat and the vegetables. Peter was eating his meat first and then loaded up on vegetables and potatoes. James was looking at his friends thinking about different each one of them was. He put some food on his plate and started eating. He was excited to start training again. The next game was against Hufflepuff and if they won they would be one step closer in winning the House Cup. Ravenclaw already won against Hufflepuff. So the next game against Ravenclaw was very important. They needed to win that one for sure. After thirty minutes it was time to go to DATDA. James was walking next to Sirius and a few meters in front of them were Remus and Peter. "Ready?" Sirius asked, making sure Remus didn't hear them. James nodded and grinned. "Let's prank those Slytherins."

They took their seats in the class. Their plan was to wait 15 minutes to get the class started and everyone's attention focused. "So the hex is _vespertilio_. Just point at someone and whisper it." Sirius said. James nodded in and grabbed his wand. He was looking for a target and looked and Snivellus, who was sitting 4 rows in front of them on their right. He looked at Sirius and nodded in Snape his direction to let Sirius know that that was his target. Sirius nodded and gave him a thumbs up. Good, thought James. Sirius looked at James expectantly. James grinned. Both of them raised their wand and whispered: "Vespertilio." And that is when things took a wrong turn.

Both of the spells were heading in the direction of Snape. When they almost reached him they collided. There was a lot of noise and an explosion. People started screaming and ducking under tables. When both hexes had hit each other they send of a ray through the whole class. The professor turned around when he heard the noise but had to close his eyes to protect himself from the recoil. "What in Merlin's beard is happening?" He yelled. "Who did this?" Then all of the sudden the yelling became even louder. Everyone's bogeys just turned into bats and they were making their way out of their noses. James felt something itching in his own nose as well. He looked in shock to Sirius and that sight was hilarious and a bit frightening.

Sirius and James were also hit by the recoil of the hex and now their bogeys were also turning into bats. Sirius nostril opened up a bit and something black came climbing out. "Mate, you've got something right here." And James pointed at his right nostril while roaring with laughter. Sirius rolled his eyes and laughed. "So funny. Not! Well this kind of backfired!" At that moment Remus and Peter turned around. "What did you do?" Hissed Remus at his two best friends. "Nothing!" James and Sirius tried to look innocent. "That is crap and you know it. You did this! Will you look at me! I've got bat coming out of my nose!" Remus slapped another one away that was coming out of his left-nostrils. "Look around! This is a mess. A disaster!" Remus hissed getting more worked up by the second.

James looked around. He saw boy trying the fight the bats, because some of them were really big. Girls were crying and holding each other. James tried to feel bad, but this looked hilarious. The teacher was fighting the bats that were leaving his nose. He was shooting spells at the, but they were too fast. About 60 bats were flying through the classroom and nearly hitting people with their wings. Girls were screaming louder and ducking under tables, except for a few who were trying to petrify them. Lily Evans was one of them. Look at her, James thought. Her face was determined and she was aiming her wand precisely hitting one bat after another. People tried to copy her, but were less successful. "For Merlin's sake, James and Sirius. This is bad, really bad. What if you get caught? I told you shouldn't do it! You can't just say a random spell without knowing what it will do!" Remus said. "We won't get caught! Who will know we did it? We are also victims here. Look at our noses!" James noticed something. "Peter, why aren't there any bats coming out of your nose?" Peter flushed. Sirius snorted. "You know why. Because he is picking his nose when he thinks we are not watching. He is doing it in his bed, he is doing it when he thinks he is alone and he is even visiting the toilet for it." Peter flushed even harder. "N-n-no, that is not true." But his face looked guilty. James was grimacing. "Okay, well at least you are safe of the bats."

The class was interrupted. The professor couldn't get a grip anymore. He send a group of hysterical girls to the hospital wing to take something for their nerves. "Potter, Black, Evans, Snape and Pescus. You all will stay here and help me clean this up. The rest of you leave, right now! I will see you in our next class." Everybody stood up hastily and sprinted out of the door. "Good luck. I think you will need it! He is on to the two of you for sure" Remus said to James and Sirius before he and Peter left. "Do you think he knows it was us?" Sirius asked. "I don't know. I don't think so. But we can't change it now. Let's see what he wants." They walked to the front of the class. "You guys are one of the best of your class and I want you to take care of this with me. We will petrify them, grab their bodies and let them loose outside. Black, Potter and Pescus petrify them and Snape and Evans and I will guide them into a bag."

The remaining of the hour James was busy with petrifying bats. Lily was hitting them with wingardium leviosa to get them into her bag. Snape was working with the professor and Sirius with Alice. After approximately 30 minutes they were finally done. James went with his hand through his hair and walked to Lily. "Hey, Evans. How are you doing? Did any of those bats get you?" Lily looked at him. "I am fine. They did, but I figured if I would blow my nose they would maybe stop coming out/" James was impressed. "Did it work" Lily nodded. "Yes, I was quite surprised. And how are you?" "I am fine too, thanks. You are quite impressive, you know. Especially after you got rid of your bats." Lily's eyes narrowed a bit. "Impressive why, if I may ask?" James went again with his hand through his hair, while smiling at her. "Well, most girls were screaming and hiding underneath the tables. But I guess that you are …" He couldn't finish his sentence because Lily was interrupting him. "I am not the same as the other girls?" She said scornfully. Her tone took James by surprise. "Yeah, eh… no? I don't know. I was going to say that and it was meant as a compliment, but …" James was a bit taken by surprise. "Oh, it was a compliment? Well, thank you so much James. Now that I know that it all makes sense. Thank you James, for noticing that I, a girl, isn't scared of bats. Thank you that it makes me different and stand out from the others. That is all I ever wanted." James was flabbergasted. How did this happen? He paid her a compliment, saying how well she did and this was her response? James was about to tell her he didn't understand her, but the two of them were interrupting. "Is he bothering you?" James saw that Snape approached. "No, it's fine Sev." Lily said. "He tried to be nice, but it was kind of insulting." Snape looked with a disgusted look at James and James answered it with more disgust if it was even possible. "Why don't you just leave her alone?" Severus is looking James straight in the eye. "Trust me mate, there is nothing more I want to do right now. I tried to be nice, but apparently that is a crime nowadays."

"Let's go, Sev. I don't want to be late for my next class." Lily ignored James. Severus turned around with Lily and they grabbed their backs. "Let me walk you." He said. Lily smiled at him. James was looking at them while they were leaving the door. "You okay, mate?" Sirius asked. James nodded. "I just can't stand him. I am nice to hear and she totally berates me. But why is the nice to him? He is literally trash. He is mean, shady and… and… a Slytherin for Merlin's sake." James heard someone laugh behind him. He turned around and saw Alice looking at the ground, trying to hide the fact that she was the one who laughed.

"Spill it, Pescus." Sirius said laughing. "What do you know that we don't know?" Alice shook her head. "I can't tell, Lily is my best friend!" James rolled his eyes. He hated the giggling girls and this was why. Why laugh at all when you won't say anything at all. "Ah, come on. You can tell us, right? You probably agreed with us and that is why you laughed. Plus we just did this amazing job together on getting rid of those bats." Sirius looked intense at Alice who was looking back at him, without breathing. Sirius smiled at her and reminded her to breath. She took a deep breath and while blushing she started talking. "I-I-I eh… well the thing is, we ask ourselves the exact same thing. What is it that Lily's sees in him? He is mean, hangs with the wrong people and it is obvious that he is so in love with her." James felt something move in his stomach. "He is? Is she in love with him too?" He asked quickly. Alice shrugged. "I don't think so. Mary says she is, but what does she know about love? I think she cares for him and loves him but on another level, more like a brother." James nodded and felt somehow more at ease now. He ignored Sirius who was eying him suspiciously.  
"And she won't listen to the three of you at all? He askes. "Well, Mary, Marlene and I try to let the subject rest for now. We don't want to fight because of him. If we tell her time and time again how much we dislike him, she will stop talking about him and her. And that might result into not knowing what they are up to at all. But hopefully she will see him for what a really is. Rather sooner than later." And on that note she grabbed her back, said her goodbyes to Sirius and James and left the room.  
"Mate, what was that? Why did you ask if she was in love with him?" Sirius asked James. James shrugged his shoulders. "Just curious." He refused to look Sirius in the eye. "Why do you care? Are you in love with her?" James heart started racing. Was he? But immediately he thought back to their conversation earlier. "No, not at all. I just tried to figure out her deal. One second she is all nice and friendly and the next she is giving me attitude and being nasty. I was just curious what her deal was. Can we let this rest please?" James grabbed his bag. Sirius sighed. "Sure. So next subject. When does practice start?" James smiled. "Tomorrow evening! Finally, I missed it."

* * *

Lily was walking through the corridors with Severus. "Are you okay?" He asked. Lily nodded, but the knot in her stomach said something different. She sighed. "I think I was too harsh to James. He only said nice things." Severus rolled his eyes. "Of course he did." He murmured. "Sorry?" Lily asked, while stopping in her tracks. "Nothing." Severus said quickly. "I have no idea what you just said, but I know what you think of them. He is my classmate and has never been anything but nice to me. And I was mean to him today, for no reason at all. I hate it when I am on my …" But she stopped her sentence right there, looking embarrassed to the ground, avoiding Severus his eyes. "You are on your what?" Severus asked. Lily shook her head. "No, I can't tell. It is stupid and nothing. Forget I said anything." Severus put his hand on her shoulder. "I won't. Tell me please, what is it? Are you sick?" Lily flushed red. "No, Sev! It is just embarrassing. I am okay, honestly." Severus looked at her. "Okay, you know you can tell me anything. You know that right?" She nodded. "I know. This is just … Just girl stuff you know." Severus looked puzzled but after a few seconds he put two and two together. He stuttered something unrecognizable and he flushed. Lily could not help herself to laugh. "Sorry! It is indeed that time of the month again. And somehow I am way more emotion than usual. But let's change the subject. It is quite uncomfortable to talk about it with you." Severus smiled, looking relieved.

That night Lily was laying on the couch in the common room. Alice was sitting on the ground with her back against the couch, reading a book. "I sure hope Marlene is done soon. I need to take a shower. I still feel like there are bats coming out of my nose." She shivered a bit thinking back about this afternoon. "Do we know who cast that spell?" Alice asked. Lily shrugged. "I have no idea who did it. But I have my suspicions. Who would think that some kind of hex like this if funny?" Alice put her head back to look at Lily. "Well, I have four boys in mind right now to be honest." Lily nodded. "Great minds think alike I see." Alice laughed. "That is true." At that moment Mary appeared from the dorms and was walking their way. "Here, catch!" She threw something towards Lily. Lily sat up and looked at what Mary threw at her. "Mar, thank you! Chocolate!" Lily sat up straight and opened the wrapper. She took a bite and her mouth filled up with the sweet taste. "Hmm. Amazing, thank you!" Mary laughed. "No problem, Lils. I know chocolate always helps me when I am on my period." Lily nodded with her mouth full with chocolate. "It's delicious!" She said while spraying little bit of chocolate in front of her.

Marlene joined them with damp hair. "Ah, you're done!" Alice put her book down and stood up. "Did you leave any hot water for me?" She joked. Marlene joked by putting her tongue out. "Just a few drops. So I would hurry up if I was you!" Alice left the common room and Marlene sat down where Alice just sat. "How is your stomach, Lily?" She asked. Lily swallowed the chocolate. "Still hurting, but it's is manageable." Marlene nodded. "We women can handle everything of course." Lily nodded. "Yes, we can!" At that moment someone in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Lily looked up and it was Remus. "Hey Remus, everything okay?" She asked. "Hi girls. Yes, are you three doing okay?" He asked. The three of them nodded. "I am sorry for asking this, Lily. But I noticed you have chocolate." He looked at his shoes while saying this. "I am kind of running low on my supply. And I … eh…" He started stammering while shifting on his feet. "Come sit next to me." Lily said while petting the spot next to her. "Of course I will share with you." He was so shy sometimes, Lily thought. But I guess that he is a true chocolate addict if you are going around asking other people for some chocolate. Remus sat down and Lily broke off a piece of the bar she got from Mary. He quickly took a bite and closed his eyes with satisfaction. "So, how do you feel after this afternoon? Can you shake the feeling of bats coming out of your nose?" Remus swallowed and nodded. "I had to take a shower, blow my nose several times but somehow I do feel clean now. But what was that a weird feeling!"

"You got someone crazy enough to give you some chocolate, Remus?" Lily looked up and saw Sirius standing next to the couch. Remus nodded while biting off another piece. "Could I have a piece as well, Evans?" Sirius asked. "Nope, sorry Sirius. I only share with people who really need it." Lily answered. Sirius lifted his eyebrows and scuffs. "Okay then! How do you know that Remus needs is so badly?" Lily narrowed her eyes a bit while maintaining eye-contact with him. "Somehow when you ask for chocolate so politely, almost ashamed of it, you kind of know that that someone's really needs it." Remus cheeks flushed red. "But I am more than happy to share with you, Remus. But this is just for us!" Remus nodded. "You hear the lady, Sirius." Sirius rolled his eyes. "Fine. I still cannot believe you went through your own stash so quickly." Remus shrugged. "I try to contain myself. If I hadn't I wouldn't have had any chocolate left three weeks ago. Just six more weeks and I can stock up at home."

"Hey Sirius, where are James and Peter?" Marlene asked. "James needed to meet with his team about tomorrows training and Peter is in the library catching up on some homework for Herbology." Mary shot up. "Shit! I totally forgot! We have homework for tomorrow. I thought I was free tonight. Oh shit, I totally forgot. Did you guys do it already?" Everyone around them nodded, even Sirius. Mary looked at him with a sly smile. "You _did_ your homework, Black?" "Fine, I copied it from Frank. He owed me one for helping out the other day with some Slytherins." He said defensive. "No need to feel attacked, Black. I was merely just asking. Well, I know none of you will give it to me for copying. So I think I will join Peter in the library for the las 45 minutes and hopefully he will help me." Sirius laughed scornfully. "Sure thing, McDonald, ask Peter for help. Are you sure you want to fail?" Remus hit Sirius in his ribs. "Be nice! Peter is actually quite good in Herbology." Sirius rolled his eyes. "Sorry, that is true. I do wish you all the best, McDonald. Say hi to Peter from me." Mary made some witty remark, grabbed her back and walked away.

Her seat wasn't empty for long, because James Potter just returned from his meeting. His hair was wet, his glasses fogged and he was shivering a bit. "Merlin's beard, what is it cold outside. I truly dislike this part of the year. I would choose sun over snow anytime." Marlene nodded. "Same! I love a good tan!" Lily shrugged. "Well, seeing everything covered in snow has something magical about it." James laughed. "Well Evans, if you just look around you on a daily basis you can see magical things all the time. That is one the benefits of being in a magical castle, full with witches and wizards." Lily started laughing and somehow James seemed confused. "Wow, I honestly did not expect that reaction from you. Sometimes you are so unpredictable. I honestly expected a snarky remark or something like that." Lily felt a small knot in her stomach. She knew he was talking about their conversation this afternoon. "Yeah, to be honest I also surprise myself nowadays. I am sorry for my reaction this afternoon. It was unnecessary and mean." James' mouth opened up. Marlene looked from Lily to James. Remus and Sirius were looking at James in silence. "Well thanks, Evans. I appreciate it. I wasn't trying to insult you or anything of course, but sorry from me as well if I did." Lily smiled. Somehow she had no idea why Severus was so negative about him all the time. He sure had his charming qualities. He could have been mean to her right now. He didn't even had to apologize for his behavior, but he still did. Everybody had their better and worse sides. James was not the worst person in this school for sure. "So, friends?" She said. James looked at her for a bit longer than needed. "Of course. Always, Evans." The rest of the night they spend talking about the upcoming Quidditch match. When Peter and Mary returned all of them helped them with their Herbology paper and it was close to midnight before they called it a night. Lily lay in bed with a content feeling. Somehow quite a bad day (with the Hex and everything) had a good ending. Warm, with all of her friends in the common room, laughing about stuff made her love her life at Hogwarts even more.

 **Authors note: A little bit less from Lily this time. I found it quite hard to write from her perspective this time. And she is 12 years old now, could be a bit early for having your period. But I was twelve and my sister was even younger. So somehow I already wrote this part with her being mean to James before my writers block and I was re-reading it and didn't understand why she was so mean to him. I didn't want to delete it, so I kept it and blamed it on the period. I know I sure am moody when I have mine, so yeah...**

 **I think I will write a bit more from James perspective the upcoming chapters, maybe go a bit deeper into Remus and his transitions. The match against Hufflepuff is coming up soon, so he starts training again.**

 **I am sure this is not my best writing so far. I was a bit off, but I deprived all of you so long already from new chapters I didn't want to wait until I could finally write more. I am already working on chapter eighteen right now, so hopefully I can post that one in the upcoming week. Enjoy your weekend, guys!**


	18. Chapter 18 Second year adventures

James was standing in the freezing cold on the Quidditch field. He was excited to finally train again, but he hated this weather. Damn it, he thought. If they would just hurry up with getting the Quaffle and everything else. The sooner he would be back in the common room the happier he would be. "Okay everyone, listen up! The game is just four weeks away. The last one before the Christmas holiday. And if we win this one, we are one step closer to the House Cup! After that it is only Ravenclaw left to beat and I know we are more than capable of it." The captain was looking around and trying to motivate everybody. "I know Hufflepuff seems like an easy team to beat, but don't be cocky now. We need to consider them as a real threat due to two new hires. Their keeper and their seeker. They tried to play things low-key so they can surprise their opponents during the match, but I saw them train the other night. The keeper stopped the most difficult throws and the seeker, well, she was fast and skilled! Do not underestimate them!"

When James finally returned that evening from practice he was freezing. He sat down by the fire. Everybody else was already to bed, since it was quite late. The rest of the team quickly went to their rooms, but James needed to warm up first. A few days ago Peter somehow managed to break a window. And when they told McGonagall about it she was outraged. "The four of you have no clue about any consequences do you? You just do things without thinking about it and what could happen. And no Mr. Pettigrew, I don't want to hear it." She said strictly when Peter wanted to tell her it was only his fault. "I don't care who did, why you did it and how you did it. This is the fourth time this week I see the four of you about something that I need to fix and I won't have it. I will tell the house-elves not to fix it until I say so. You are not allowed to use magic on your own to fix nor to ask someone to do it for you." The four them had protested loudly, saying she couldn't do that since it was winter and freezing outside. "I. Don't. Want. To. Hear. It." McGonagall emphasized every word. "Fix it by not using magic, how muggles would do it. And once I think that you have learned your lesson about consequences, the window will be fixed."

So since then Remus and Sirius taped the window shut with some paper, two scarfs and tape. "I have no idea how muggles do this." Sirius complained. "McGonagall can't do this. It is freezing outside. What if we went straight to Dumbledore? He would never allow this." Sirius kept complaining most of the night. James was sulking as well, but there was no use in complaining out loud. They just had to get through. Remus was saying again and again to Sirius to behave during class, especially Transfiguration. If one of them gave McGonagall another reason to be mad at them, the window would take even longer to fix.

So James now tried to soak up as much warmth as possible before heading to bed. He was sleeping with two pair of socks, a sweater and a scarf on top of his usual pajamas. But it was no use if he got in all those clothes while freezing. He moved his chair a bit closer to the fire, slouched down in it and let the warmth warm up his toes. He felt how his toes slowly felt less like ice cubes and started to warm up. There was a strange, tingly sensation in his toes and he stretched them a bit. It slowly faded away and the warmth continued spread towards his knees. James felt warmer already and slowly started to drift away a bit. He tried to stay awake but somehow I was too comfortable, too warm and he was tired after such a hard practice.

"James! James, wake up!" James felt someone pull on his arm. He mumbled something and tried to turn around. "No, wake up. James!" James opened his eyes and looked Remus right in the face. "What?" He said grumpy. He hated being woken up. "Why are you down here and not in bed?" Remus asked. "I needed to feel my limbs again after that practice and I fell asleep by the fire. It was just for a few minutes." Remus shook his head. "It is 5.30 in the morning, James. You slept here for the better part of the night." James was lost for words. It felt like he just fell asleep. He sat up and flinched. He felt his muscles aching in his neck. Remus must have noticed him flinch. "That is what you get for sleeping in that position for hours. Come on, take a shower and roll your neck. It will do you good." James stood up but then realized that Remus just told him it was only 5.30. "If it is that early, why are you up already?" He asked. Remus shrugged. "Bad dream. I couldn't fall asleep after that anymore, so I left our cold dorm and wanted to read a bit next to the fire until you guys woke up."

James looked at his friend and tried to study him. Remus just woke up, but the bags under his eyes were there almost every day now. And especially so recent after a transition they were worse. There was also a kind of sadness in his eyes. But somehow they sparkled on almost a daily basis. Especially during lunch and dinner when the four of them were laughing together and joking around. "I will take a shower in a bit." James decided. He wanted to talk to Remus. "Do you want some company?" Remus nodded. "Sure, it can be kind of boring down here all alone." He sat down in the chair across from James. James sat down again and thought about what his friend just said. "How often do you sit here all alone?" Remus shrugged and looked at the fire. "It depends. The week before my transition is usually the worst. And I think I have some aftermath problems in the days after my transition." But I would say a solid 2, 5 weeks out of 4 are okay. Sometimes even 3!" He smiled a bit. "You do know that we will soon start that potion and hopefully the start of transitioning as well. So hopefully only the upcoming few times will be the last time you go through this alone." Remus looked at James. "Thanks James, I really appreciate it that you guys are willing to do this for me. But I've done it on my own for so long now. I know I will get through. So don't hurry and if you decide you don't want to do it anymore, I will not hate you." James thought about the whole process. "Yeah I know. But no one should be going through that on their own. It is just that the procedure is quite risky. We already lost the last full moon for starting that Mandrake procedure. But in the end it didn't really matter since it was cloudy. So that wouldn't have counted. I just hope that once we decide to start to keep the Mandrake leaf in our mouths that no one swallows it or removes it. That is going to be risky with eating, drinking, answering questions and for me with practice. But we will get it done, Remus. We say we do it for you, which is of course the main reason. But somehow becoming illegal Animagi is something that gives me an adrenaline rush. There is something about breaking the rules sometimes." Remus had to laugh out loud when James said that. "That is something that I do admire in you indeed. Your braveness. You are bold and not scared. I wish I had those qualities as well." James rolled his eyes. "Come on, Remus. You know as well as me that you are brave and not afraid. You have been through so much already and you are so positive all the time." Remus smiled. "We sound like a bunch of girls now, don't we?" James laughed. "And who cares? I can continue being a girl to you if you want to. You are kind to everyone you meet, you want to help people and you are smart. Not only are you the perfect student, but also the perfect friend." James felt now he took it a little bit too far. "Okay, that was too cheesy. Even for us girls." Remus chuckled. "Yeah, it was almost as if you were going to ask me to be your boyfriend." And that idea gave both of them a serious laugh attack. After a few minutes both of them compiled themselves. "But thanks James, I know you mean it. I am happy that you are my friend. The same goes for Sirius and Peter." James told Remus he made sure to write it in the love letters they were going to receive with Valentine's.

"Can I ask you something maybe a bit more personal?" James was already carefully phrasing his next sentence. Remus nodded. "Sure, fire away." James was quiet for a moment. "Could you maybe describe what it is like to transform?" He looked what the reaction of Remus was. He looked a bit taken back and reprehensive. "If you don't want to, just say so. But I am quite curious." James added silently. Remus seemed to think. "It is not that I don't want to explain it, but it is quite hard to find the right words. But I guess I could give it a go.

So first of all it is really painful, extremely even. That is why I am unable to do anything in the first few days after my transitions. Due to my sore bones and muscles. Madam Pomfrey helps me with that. There is no cure or medicine that can help me with my transition, to make it easier or less painful. There is nothing that can stop it or make not transform. I heard about this potion, Wolfsbane, but it is really, really, really hard to produce. Slughorn might be able to do it and Dumbledore offered me to ask him or try to do it myself, but I refused. The complexity of this potion plus the time and the ingredients that it takes to make it, it is too much. A professor and headmaster need to use their time more efficient.

But there are a few treatments that Pomfrey uses to help me get rid of my pain faster. I have a fever, because the temperature of a werewolf higher than the average wolves. Not much, but enough to leave me with a small fever. But the transition itself. First I feel it in the bottom of my spine. I cannot describe with anything else than as you feel it stretch but curl up at the same time. It demands you to sit down on all fours already. And then the limbs start to transform. First your legs. It helps by the way if you are naked, because you will destroy all the clothes you have on.

Your feet become larger and your nails in your toes become longer, pointier and sharper. My hands start to tremble and my finger become shorter, until they are the same size as paws, but my nails grow into claws. And your bones move into these directions. Directions I have never ever seen somebody do with their body. You feel like you will break every single bone you have, but you don't. Your muscles will grow larger, move differently around those bones and tighten. And then, once your body is in the right position the hair starts to grow and my face starts to change. The hair grows from the bottom, very fast towards the top. And my face and head is the fastest part of the transition. My nose and mouth become a snout, I get whiskers, my ears almost move to the top of my head but it feels that way because my head is shrinking in size. It becomes smaller, but longer. And then it is done. Oh no wait. The teeth. That part is surprisingly not painful at all. Unless you bite your tongue with those teeth. That is something I have done already four times or so. That hurts! And that is something you still feel two weeks after your transformation. And I guess that is all that is there to tell. I hope it is not vague or something. There is no other way that I can describe it. Sorry if I scared you." Remus looked shyly at James.

James indeed felt a bit scared, but not because he was afraid of what Remus was capable off. More that Remus has done a transformation every month for years and takes all of this in like a professional. James made sure his facial expressions were okay and not scared or disgusted. "Remus, wow. Thank you for telling me first of all. To be honest, you did not scare me at all. You made me respect you even more. You go through this every month and still manage to go to school and do all these things. I am impressed!" James knew that this was a lot to process when he was alone, but now he just wanted to reassure Remus that he was still okay with his friend and would not go anywhere. Remus smiled. "Thank you, James. But the funny thing is, school is what triggers me to keep on going you know. And you guys. But the opportunity to have even little bit of a normal life, friends, classes, homework is enough to keep me going. All of this is what I dreamed of since I heard about Hogwarts and then Fenrir bit me. And I had to force myself to forget about Hogwarts. There was no way that I could possibly go to a school with my condition. I would hurt others or even worse. That was quite a hard time for me. There was no future for me I thought. And then of course you know, Dumbledore showed up." James saw his friend lighten up when he thought about that moment. "He offered me something that I thought that I had lost forever. A chance for even 25% of a normal childhood and for that I am grateful. He did so much for me already and still is by the way. I could never repay him, nothing is enough. But I try to by making sure that I follow my classes, do my homework, pay attention, try to stay out of trouble etc. That last one is quite difficult with you and Sirius around me though. But Dumbledore told me that I should live my life how I would have when I would not be a werewolf. Just like a normal student. So a little bit of trouble is okay I guess. It is all I ever wanted." He sighed and smiled.

James was at a loss for words. He never saw somebody being so grateful and humble about something. Remus did not had the same childhood he had. His was pain free, cruelty free, careless and happy. James knew that he had a future for sure. Somehow he felt a deep desire inside of him to do something for Remus. "Remus, you are truly an inspiration. Never let you anyone tell you anything else. You are worthy of a life, and an amazing life. With equal chances for a job and a family. If I can do something to help you with anything, I will. It doesn't matter what. And for now during our school years we will accompany you during your monthly nightly adventures." James winked. Remus looked grateful and happy, as happy as James had ever seen him. "You are a good friend James." James put his hand on Remus' shoulder. "You are wrong there, mate. We are best friends!"

 **Authors note: Hi guys! Another one, plain from James his view this time. Sorry the shorter chapter, next one will be longer. But I did love writing about Remus and his friendship with James and showing this side of James. Because this was also a quality of him, caring about the minorities and injustice. Especially since he is so loyal towards his friends. He would indeed literally die for them.**

 **Secondly I am working on writing from Lily's pov, but it is really hard! What would you guys like to see happen with her? Or how do you see her at school? I need some help! I would love to get some input of what you guys would like to see/happen etc.**

 **I feel like I am only putting in some boring parts from her part around this time of year, since there aren't much things happening. And I want you to love these chapters and that something happens eventually or is leading up to something. With James I have that feeling that is the case due to Quidditch, pranks, Marauders, Remus being a werewolf etc.**

 **Maybe it might be time for another one of Slughorns party. I might skip to Christmas already for the next chapter or something like that. I wanted to do a bit of a longer story here within their year. I felt like I just rushed through their first year. Maybe second year is the hardest. Maybe that is it. In their third they are allowed to go to Hogsmeade for example. And I do have a few things that need to happen throughout the upcoming 2 years with Severus - Lily, Severus - James and the triangle.**

 **If you have any feedback, compliments, complaints or just plain reviews, please drop them below! I would love to hear from you guys. So I am working on Lily, but somehow in a writers block with her story right now! Just bear with me. If you want to have notifications when I drop a new chapter, just follow and/or fav!**


	19. Chapter 19 Second year adventures

The Christmas break was getting closer and closer but so was the match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. A lot of students were looking forward going home for the holidays but somehow the excitement of the game was getting more attention the last few days. James just finished his last practice and tomorrow was the day of the match. James was pacing through the common room, not able to sit down. "Would you please stop it?" Sirius said. James looked at him. "Fine. Because you are the one asking." Remus and Peter were silently exchanging glances. Both of them were also annoyed with James' pacing, but they knew that it would not be appreciated if they talked to James like that. Probably Remus would be looked upon, but Peter would never hear the end of it. The four of them were close and best friends, but just like most friends sometimes there was just a deeper connection between two of the four. And James and Sirius were inseparable. They were like brothers. Remus sometimes felt a bit jealous, but could rationalize it. He knew that Sirius and James cared deeply for him, but they just were on the same level about everything 99% of the time. But for Peter it was different, he took it the hardest.

He already felt like it was a riddle sometimes why Remus, James and Sirius wanted to be friends with him. He was for sure not as smart as them. So he usually asked a lot of questions during the classes and while doing homework. He was not as brave. Peter was so scared of getting caught that he almost never said to their nightly adventures. And pranks during their day he was usually the one in the back, silently just witnessing stuff and sometimes helping. And the last thing that was on his mind a lot was he was not as good-looking as them. They were close to being thirteen, Sirius already being thirteen, and their bodies were slowly starting to change. James and Sirius already grew a bit and Peter was sure that Remus would as well in the upcoming years. But somehow he couldn't help shake the feeling that he would always be the small one, the fat one and the dumb one for the rest of their lives. Peter had to witness how Sirius could make girls blush and even gasp for air sometimes. There charismatic about him that was hard to explain.

James was handsome, but not as charismatic as Sirius. His green eyes were the eye-catcher when you saw him for the first time, especially in comparison with his black hair. He was thin and his muscles started to show from all the Quidditch practices. But James didn't need the charisma that Sirius had. When he walks into a room, people would turn their heads. As if somehow they felt a great presence. You could maybe compare a little bit with Dumbledore. But Dumbledore's presence was at least a thousand times greater and stronger. People admired Dumbledore and looked up to him. It was known that He Who Must Not Be Named was afraid of only Dumbledore and yet, Dumbledore never bragged about it or flaunted it. But what Dumbledore had in modesty, James had in arrogance most of the time. His ego got a boost when he was selected for the Quidditch team at the beginning of the year and it only got bigger after their first win. Peter of course only hoped that his friend would win all of this matches, but maybe losing one time would make James less full of himself.

And there was also Remus. Remus was thin, the tallest one of the four and very smart. He described himself more book-smart and less experience-smart. He said that whenever a situation would happen where he would need to act quickly, he would probably stay calm and over-think. While Sirius and James would just start doing magic at random in the hope of getting out alive. And that chance was big, since they were quite lucky in general in life. Remus appearance was quite rough. You somehow had to stare at him when he would walk into a room. His hair was a bit messy, his skin white, baggy eyes, a bit slouchy because of a heavy bag and his clothes were old. Peter felt the closest to Remus, mainly due to the fact that most of their stuff was secondhand or sometimes even third- or fourhanded. Both of their families didn't have much money and needed to take it slow and make every penny count. But Remus had this easy appearance. Whenever you were close to him you felt at ease. He was relaxed, quiet and made you feel recognized in his presence. He was polite, kind and always asked questions. You couldn't help to feel that he was sincerely interested in you and your answers. And that is a quality that a lot of people don't have. Where right now girls would get nervous to be close to Sirius and James, they could always be found around Remus. Laughing and talking together. Remus was not shy, but neither very outgoing. He would not take the first step quickly, but rather let you come to him. But when you did he would never let you feel unwanted, how inconvenient the moment might be.

Peter was grateful for his friends that was for sure. He wouldn't trade them for anything in the world, but sometimes he couldn't help to feel a bit left out. He wasn't as charismatic as Sirius, not as good-looking or athletic as James and not as smart and easy-going as Remus. He was clumsy, usually he made his presence known by tripping over something or drop something. Since he hit puberty he hated that his voice would squeak a lot whenever he was asked something in class. Peter saw how James and Sirius grinned at each other whenever he gave the, nine out of ten times the wrong, answer in his weird voice. Sometimes he hated his friends because of this, but he would never say that. There was no one else who would defend him against the Slytherins who were mocking him and making fun of him behind his back. They would repeat his answer in a high pitched voice while making faces. Sirius and James hexed and threatened a lot of Slytherins that did this and served a lot of detentions because of this. Peter apologized time after time that they got punished, but Sirius and James always laughed it off. "We don't mind, Peter. Nobody mocks you except us. We will take anyone on who does this." And every single time they said this made Peters chest swell. He knew his friends well and he could endure their jokes about him if they did this for him. They truly cared for him and Peter felt safe when they were with the four of them. Somehow the other three felt like a thick, great wall that protected him for anything or anyone that would hurt him.

Back in the common room in the tower of Gryffindor Remus was packing up his stuff to go to bed. "So Remus, how much homework did you get done?" Asked James. Remus smiled a bit and shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. I would say I am done right now." Remus had a smug look on his face. "You mean for tomorrow you are done?" Sirius asked. "Nope, I did all the homework they gave us so far. You know what I do. I do the work the same day they assigned it. I told you a hundred times that you should do it as well." Sirius rolled his eyes. "A hundred times? James, Peter, do you guys here that? Remus honestly thinks that he only told us that a hundred times. Isn't that funny? I think we are closer to a thousand. What do you think?" Peter laughed. "I would say probably even a million. You do know how often he said it during the finals last year?" James: "Yes, we thought he was replaced some kind of machine that was stuck on the sentence the whole time. We almost tried to find your motherboard." Remus rolled his eyes, but with an amused look. "You guys can make fun of me all you want. At least I got good grades on the finals, have my homework done on time and I know what we are talking about in class. And by that I stand and I am off to bed now. James, I suggest you do the same since you have the game tomorrow. You might play better when you are not tired." Remus grabbed his back and headed up the stairs.

"How big would that stick up his ass be?" James said. "He sounds like my mother sometimes. She writes the same things in her letters to me, you know." James suddenly stood up. "Oh that reminds me. She send me some candy in her last package. There was also some for the three of you!" Peter's mood suddenly improved a lot more. The candy that James got was mouthwatering good. His parents had a lot of money so they could buy the really good stuff. His parents were the best. They always invited Sirius, Remus and Peter to stay with them, sending candy and sometimes small presents via James to them and you could always count on motherly and fatherly advice if you needed some. Sirius' parents were also rich, but they kind of dishonored him after he got sorted into Gryffindor. Sirius didn't like to talk about them. Peter knew that it bothered him that his little brother, who did get sorted into Slytherin, still got letters and candy from his parents. Peter also knew that Regulus tried to share with Sirius several times, but Sirius always declined. He didn't need anything his parents didn't want him to have. Regulus tried to convince Sirius with arguments like: "Well, mum and dad know that I would share it with you anyway. So if they didn't want you to have it, they wouldn't give me it." Sirius' usual answer was that they knew that he would never accept it, knowing where it came from. "But wouldn't it teach him a lesson if you would eat it then?" Regulus almost begged him saying this. Sirius was inexorable. "I am sorry brother, I appreciate you coming to me, but don't offer me that stuff again. You know how I feel about them." Sirius then turned around and left. Remus hurried after him. "Sirius, what was that? There was no need for that. You acted like a real jerk towards Regulus. It isn't his fault that you and your parents are not speaking. Don't take it out on him. I cannot imagine what he must be going through at home. His only brother away most of the time and …" But Remus couldn't finish his sentence. "Remus, please. Just stop, okay? I don't want to hear it. Why is it Regulus who you worry about? I am the one who gets ignored. Whenever I need something new, like cloaks or books, I almost have to beg for them. My parents love seeing me squirm for stuff like that. They know I need it, they know I have to ask them and they know they can make me work for it. So don't worry about little Regulus okay? He is fine. He gets letters, candy and all the stuff he needs without lifting a finger. I am sick of this situation. I don't want anything to do with my parents, let alone talk to them. But I can't. I need them and their stupid money. My allowance, if I get it, is not enough to save up for even one book. But you know what, everything is okay. I will make sure I don't need them anymore hopefully soon. I will make it work." Sirius ended his rant on this note and quickly walked away. Remus knew his friend better than to follow him. At this point he knew Sirius needed to be alone with his thoughts and whenever he was ready he would talk to James about it.

The next morning it was cloudy and grey outside, just like the ceiling in the Great Hall. Everybody was bringing their scarfs, mittens and scarfs with them to breakfast to bring with them to the stadium. James ate some toast. "Eat some more, James. How about a sausage?" Remus asked. James shook his head. "Nope, thanks mate. I don't like flying on a full stomach." James said cool. "So you are not too nervous to eat?" Remus asked. James shook his head with great force. "Pff, please mate. I am not nervous. You know what my breakfast is? Hufflepuffs! Don't worry about me." Before Remus could reply the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team walked to them to pick up James. "You ready, Potter?" The captain said. "As ready as I ever will be." James said self-assured. "That's the spirit. Let's go then." James stood up and after several good luck-wishes from the Gryffindor table he left the Great Hall with his team.

James walked to the Quidditch field. He left his broom in storage there after last night's training, just to carry less with him. While walking on the path he was going over their strategy and some tactics they discussed for this match. He felt a jolt in his stomach, something he had if he was nervous. He knew Remus knew, but somehow James couldn't admit that he was nervous. In his eyes it was a sign of weakness. He rather seemed confident and sure of his case than nervous and insecure. "Hey Potter, get your head back here." James snapped back and looked at his captain. "You okay? You won't be flaking on us right now before the game right?" James shook his head. "No, there is no need to worry! I am focused and ready to win this match." The whole team started cheering and shouting. "Gryffindor will take the House Cup this year!" "Yes, they will hear us roar!" were just a few of the chants. They entered the changing room for some last minute tactics and pep talks. They heard footsteps above them from the other students entering the stadium to watch the game.

"Okay guys. I know it is cold outside. The weather forecast was not that good, it might rain. But nonetheless I expect 100% motivation and determination to win this match. Focus, do what we discussed and keep it clean. We want to win fair and square. I know we can beat Hufflepuff, but we can't underestimate them. So play fair but with power. Are you ready? Let's go win this game!" Everybody stood up, excited and full with power after this pep talk. James nerves were calming down and a certain determination came upon him. They walked to their brooms and as soon as James held his he felt a certainty. He was ready.

 **Authors note: Another chapter done! I am quite happy with this one. Especially because of the little bit of background from everyone and the ties between the four of them. I think I will re-read specific parts of PoA and OotF again to read more about where the four of them are mentioned. I feel I have more inspiration for Lily soon, so maybe next or in a few chapters we will read again from her pov.**

 **Feel free to fav/follow to keep updates about my next chapter! If you have any feedback, questions, comments or compliments please leave them! I'd love to read them!**


	20. Chapter 20 Second year adventures

As soon as the whistle blew 15 brooms rose high up in the air. The Snitch, Bulgers and Quaffle were released. Fourteen players from two teams and the referee were taking part in the match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. James felt the cold wind whip around his face, but he ignored it. His eyes were set on the big red ball that was now falling down. He sped down towards the ground and saw someone from his team on his left doing the same thing. But right before he could catch a Chaser from Hufflepuff caught the Quaffle and flew away.

James tilted his broom the left and pursued the pursuit. He pushed a little harder on his broom trying to make way through the cold, hard wind. His eyes started to water from the speed but he managed to get closer and closer. Just a few more meters and he was right next to the Chaser. He checked the distance left towards the Gryffindor goals. He needed to act fast, there was no room nor time for hesitation. He was almost there, he could almost bump into him to make him lose the Quaffle. Just a few more seconds and WHAM. James flung himself to the left and hit the Chaser on his right. The Quaffle fell down and a Gryffindor Chaser caught it. That had to be Minnie, he thought.

James was cheering on the inside. He turned his broom around and started following Minnie. Soon he caught up and he mentally prepared himself to be ready if she needed to pass the ball. They needed to dodge a Bulger so they were now flying on the right side of the stadium towards the Hufflepuff goals. James looked over his shoulder and saw that a little bit behind them, just a tat lower, were two Chasers from the Hufflepuff team. He tried to find the third one, but he couldn't see him anywhere around him. Minnie was holding the Quaffle against her body, in front of her while steering her broom with one hand. James was about to get closer to her when he saw something black coming into his sight on his left. "MINNIE!" James yelled. "BULGER!" He had no idea if she heard him or not and there was no time to check this. He shot up with his broom to dodge the bulger and he was trying to catch a sound of a bulger hitting a body, but that didn't came. He sighed in relieve and saw that Minnie had made the same decision as he had. She grinned and together they set off towards the Keeper.

The Keeper was flying from one side of the other. James looked around and saw that they were surrounded on each side by a Chaser from the other team. He tried to look for their third Chaser, but somehow he couldn't find Peter anywhere. Damn it, Smith. Where in Merlin's beard are you? James was getting fed up. How were they supposed to score against three Chasers and a Keeper with just the two of them? His captain, Alistair Murray, was going to blow his mind. Minnie was probably thinking the same thing, considering her confused look on her face. She looked around and James knew they were trapped. The closer they came to the goals the closer the Chasers came. James already had to fly almost next to Minnie right now. She looked at him with a look on her face that James understood as: What are we going to do? James needed to think quickly. There was no way that they could keep going forward without losing the Quaffle. There was a way that was quite tricky and difficult. But it was worth a shot. He looked at Minnie, at the goals and then at their opponents. "Drop it and keep flying." He said to Minnie. "What, drop it? NO!" Minnie shouted back. "Just do it. Trust me." James looked her in the eyes and smiled. "Trust me. Do it NOW." If Minnie didn't trust him or hesitated, you could not tell. She immediately dropped the Quaffle but kept on going. James braked and shot down with his broom. The angle he had to make was almost impossible. Nobody had expected this and he heard some gasps from the public.

His pulled his broom a little bit back and he was now flying down. He could feel himself slowly slip away, but he tightened his muscles from his thighs to keep a hold on his broom. His legs were his only help since he had to stretch his arm soon to catch the Quaffle. There were a few meters left between him and the ground. He could hear the spectators in the stands yell that he had to let it go. But there was no way that James would listen. He knew that he could make it. He pushed himself a little further until he felt the tips of his fingers slowly grasp the Quaffle. James swooped his arm underneath it, pulled on his broom and shot up again. He sped up, ignoring everyone around him who was yelling and cheering him on. He knew that if he acted quickly he could score. He had the element of surprise.

He shot right past a Bulger that scraped his back. He grabbed the Quaffle with his hand, lifted his arm and aimed for the middle post. He saw the Keeper flying to that one, but in the last second he twister his wrist in such a way he spun the Quaffle more his right. The Quaffle flew right through the right hoop. The Gryffindor stands were erupting with cheers and screams. People were stamping on the ground and chanting his name. "Potter! Potter! Potter!" James flew by them while holding his fist up in the air. He just scored the first goal of the match and now it was 10 – 0 for Gryffindor.

The rest of game was crazy. Alistair had been right not to underestimate the Hufflepuffs. Their game was strong and they had a lot of great moves. James scored two more times and Minnie once. There was no sight of Peter Smith, their third Chaser. There was no use to think about it now, since Hufflepuff had now scored three times in a row making it 50 – 30 and they were about to make it 50 -40. James had to focus and he was pursuing the Hufflepuff chaser but she was shifting through the air. He wasn't able to be behind her nor pass her. He truly hoped Alistair could stop them from scoring or the Snitch would be caught soon. The Chaser threw the Quaffle to her teammate. Minnie tried to interfere but missed. The Quaffle was caught and James shifted directions. He was speeding up, but he came too late. The Hufflepuff stand and the Slytherin stand were whooping. 50 – 40, they needed to end this match as quickly as possible.

And it was almost as if his prayers were heard. Within five minutes the referee blew her whistle and the game was over. James had no idea who won the game until he saw his teammates cheer and yell. Their Seeker Isobel had caught the snitch. James flew, just like his teammates, towards her and starting celebrating. They ascended down still celebrating and their moods were cheerful when entering the changing room. James saw Peter sitting on a bench, covered with bandages. What happened? He sat down next to him. "Hi Peter. What's going on?" Peter's faced looked like he was in a lot of pain. "Bad luck, James. About five minutes into the game I was hit by a Bulger. The referee was about to stop the game, but I said no and just went to the changing rooms. I made sure that Alistair knew that I was fine and that you guys should continue." James looked in awe. "Wow, so you just dropped out? I did indeed miss you during the match, but I never imagined that you were injured." Peter laughed, but he flinched. "Oy, that hurts. But injured, yeah a bit. My ribs are bruised or something. Nothing Madam Pomfrey couldn't fix. I came to see her immediately and after that I could go already. So I walked back here to watch the last part of the game and see us win." James was impressed. "Amazing. You know we could just stopped the game or something you know. We could have continued after we made sure you were okay." Peter smiled. "I know, but I somehow had the feeling that it might could have jinxed everything. Alistair was about to ascent to make sure I was okay, but I wove him away. He gave him a thumbs up and walked away. I saw him doubt himself but I waved again and made sure he continued with the match." James was nodding impressively. "Well, I guess it helped. We won!" Peter smiled. "I would give you a high five now, but I don't think I can lift my arms. Pomfrey said I would still feel it for 1 or 2 days." James wished him well and changed into his regular clothes. He knew that there would be a small party in the common room tonight.

That night they celebrated their victory. Some of the older students smuggled in some firewhiskey and giggle water. James was complimented over and over again for his first goal. Everyone was impressed with him. "You will probably be Captain one day, Potter." Alistair said. "Maybe not after I leave, which is next year. I think they will give it to Minnie. But after her, I think you have a great chance." Alistair sipped his firewhiskey. "So keep a close eye on me from now on if you want to know how to be the best Captain." He grinned and stood up. "Well, enjoy your evening for now lads. I will turn in soon. The stress from the match is now taking its toll on me. Good night." James, Sirius, Peter and Remus wished him a good night and relaxed for a bit. "He is quite intense, isn't he?" Sirius said. James nodded. "Yeah, you should see him during practice." Sirius laughed. "I'd rather not!"

Soon after Alistair left the four of them also went to bed. "One week left guys. One week until the Christmas holiday. I am excited for this one. The four of us together at my house, eating and having fun." James was putting on his pajamas. This Christmas Sirius, Remus and Peter would be at James his house. His parents had invited them over a long time ago and they finally accepted the invitation. The three of them were planning to stay at Hogwarts, but James tried to convince them to come to his house. "We have plenty of food, come on guys. Enough food, enough rooms, my parents are dying to meet the two of you, Remus and Peter." James was telling them what his parents had told him in their letter. "My mum will make her famous Shepherd's pie. She claims that everybody who eats it wants her recipe. So just make sure you ask for it, even if you don't like it." Everybody laughed.

James had to emphasize several times that it was no problem at all that three extra people would sit at the table. Finally after a few weeks Remus budged and soon after that Sirius and Peter followed. James immediately send his owl to his parents with the confirmation. Their reply was a happy one, saying how much they looked forward to seeing him again and meeting all of his friends now. James got into his bed. He looked at Remus who was folding his clothes neatly and putting them on the chair next to his bed. His eyes wandered towards Sirius, who was relaxing on his covers, loosely hanging one leg out of the four-poster bed while reading the Daily Prophet. He hold the newspaper with one hand while the other was underneath his head. Peter was examining his nails and where he could he would bite some more. He looked like he was gnawing on his nails. The four of them were so different, but somehow the four of them together worked.

"Hey, has someone seen Frank? He hasn't been around here much lately. I only see him in class, but he barely talks." Remus asked. Sirius shrugged. "Don't know, mate." James was thinking about it. Remus was right. Frank wasn't in their dorms much lately. James didn't even where he was, if he was alright and how he was doing. Weird, how you kind of live together, but you were living such separates lives. There was one thought that stuck in James his mind. What if Frank had the feeling that they didn't like him? He easily could feel that way since they barely spoke to him and didn't even really notice he was gone a lot. "He spends a lot of time with Alice and some other students." Peter said. Remus raised his eyebrows. "Oh, is he? How do you know that?" He asked. "I've heard them talk about it. They have this kind of secret meeting place apparently that they meet up almost every night." Sirius his attention was caught. "Secret you say, huh? Interesting. What more do you know about this secret meeting place?" Peter's cheeks flushed red and he shrugged. "Not much, to be honest. I overheard them talking about it during lunch a few times. It's him, Alice and some Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. I think there are about six of them." Sirius was stroking his chin. "Interesting. Well, at least we know he's safe. And probably their secret meeting place isn't that secret. I am sure that James and I have been there for sure." Sirius looked at James. "So about that, mate. How about a last time roaming the castles before we head off to your house? We still have a few days left before we need to go." James nodded. "Yeah, sure. I am always up to it. Do you want to visit some parts we haven't explored yet? We can go back to where the kitchens are and explore some more?" Sirius was overthinking it. "Yeah, that is a good idea. If we get hungry we just swing by our beloved friends and get some food as well." Peter was groaning a bit. "I could really use some pie right now or something." He said while petting his belly. "That blackberry pie from last night at dinner was unbelievable." James couldn't help but laugh when he looked at his friend. "Peter, you have some drool here." James said while pointing to the corner of his mouth. "Yeah, if you don't watch out with all that mouthwatering you could drown in it probably." Peter's head flushed red again. "Leave him alone, guys. Do you want some chocolate, Pete?" Remus asked him. "No thanks, mate. I think it's best that I go to sleep now." James and Sirius shrugged. They loved teasing their friends and especially Peter. He was so eager in responding immediately. He always felt the need to defend himself. James knew that he shouldn't take advantage of him, but sometimes it was too easy not too. He caught Sirius' look and winked real quick. Sirius rolled his eyes and rolled back down on his back. "Back to the newspaper I guess." He murmured. Remus was petting his covers nicely, so every side was even. "I will go to sleep as well, if you don't mind. Tomorrow I want to already start with that paper that we need to write for History of Magic. The more I do now, the less I have to do at your house, James." James rolled his eyes. "I would not expect anything else from you, Remus. I think I would have been in shock if you would have slept in. I probably would have woken you up by checking your pulse and temperature." Remus chuckled. "Hehe, I could sleep in a little. You are right. It is a Sunday after all. So I will leave my bed at 9, instead of 8." Sirius put down the Daily Prophet. "Wow, you are going to sleep until 9, Remus? Are you sure your body can handle that much rest at once?" He said sarcastically. "Well, that is enough mockery I can take for one night now boys." Remus said trying to sound upset, but he could barely hide his smile. "Good night!" He whipped his wand and the curtains around his four-poster bed were closing. Peter's were also closed. "I guess that is my cue as well. Sleep tight, brother." Sirius said, while putting down the Daily prophet. James nodded. "You too, mate."

 **Authors note: Another chapter done! The next one will be about the holidays, just before the holidays! Amazing timing! So we will all get a little bit more into the Christmas spirit or what you may celebrate. Part of my family is celebrating Hanukkah right now.**

 **I think the next chapter will be only from James' view, but maybe the one after that again from both. It is easier to write more about Lily maybe once she is at home again or maybe after the holidays. Her birthday is coming up, so that is worth writing about.**

 **If you want to stay updated about any new chapters, just fav and/or follow! And of course any review is welcome, I'd love read them!**

 **To the last review, which was from a guest, thank you! I'd love hearing that you read everything at once and you want me to keep going. I will for sure!**


	21. Chapter 21 Second year adventures

Christmas was getting closer and it was almost time to leave Hogwarts to return home. Christmas wasn't until Monday, so that meant that the train was leaving the Friday before. And classes were going on up and until that Thursday. "I don't feel like it will be Christmas soon." Peter sighed while they were doing homework in the common room Thursday night. "It is literally in a few days and we are still at school." Remus nodded. "I know the feeling. I forget it all the time and every time I walk into the Great Hall I am reminded again. I see the Christmas trees and think: Oh yeah… the holiday is soon." Sirius rolled up his parchment. "Well, I for starters already feel the Christmas spirit. I am literally counting down the days and tomorrow it finally hits zero!" James already gave up about twenty minutes ago with doing homework. He was tired and was just snoozing in his chair. He listened to his friends talking about Christmas and was imagining how Christmas this year would be.

When James was younger Christmas was usually one big festivity. There were always a lot of presents. New clothes, new games, every few years a new broom etc. James still remembered Christmas when he was just ten years old. His father said he could have a sip from his Butterbeer. After this sip James started coughing a lot, but remembered that warm, fuzzy feeling inside. His father had winked at him and told him that it would be their secret. His mother would have killed his father if she found out. James smiled thinking back about this memory. He was excited to see his parents again, but he noticed that nobody shared these feelings in their year anymore. Or they did, but it wasn't cool anymore to show that you were excited to see your parents again. So James decided he would act like it didn't bother him either. But he was lowkey happy to see them again.

"Guys, I am heading to bed." James stood up. "I am exhausted." Everybody wished him a good night. James walked up the stairs and headed to their dormitories. He walked straight to the bathroom and took a shower. This would probably wake him up somehow, but tomorrow morning it would be too much of an hassle. Remus, Peter and Sirius, all three of them, had to shower in the morning. So it was always a fight who was in their first. James had seen Sirius do some impressive magic to make sure he was the first one in. Even Peter hexed Sirius at one point that he was stuck to his bed. James was washing his hair and enjoying the warmth on his body. After a few minutes he stepped out of the shower and walked with just a towel around his hips back to his bed. He slipped in some clean underwear and his pajama's. He switched off the lights. His dorm was now pitch black. "Lumos." He whispered. His wand lit up in his hand and he guided himself towards his bed. "Nox." His wand went out. James closed his eyes, while enjoying the softness of his mattress. After a few minutes he drifted into a dreamless sleep, but he was rudely awakened in the morning by the sounds of his friends.

"Remus, listen to me. I am getting into the shower right now." It was Sirius his voice who said this. James groaned. Why couldn't they just shut up already. He regretted it that he didn't shut the curtains around his bed last night. At least it would block out most of the light. "Sirius. I told everyone last night that I would need to use the shower the moment I woke up in the morning. Why didn't you just wake up earlier?" Sirius rolled his eyes. "Because I can decide whenever I wake up, right? Just like you do." Remus threw his hands up in the air out of frustration. "I wake up, every single morning, weekday or weekends, at the exact same time. You know what time I will be in the shower." Sirius said replied, but James couldn't quite understand what. Remus grabbed his towel and walked to the bathroom door. He tried to open it, but it wouldn't. "What the …" Remus said. Trying the doorknob again. Sirius now stood behind him. "Are you turning the knob the right way?" Remus turned around his heels. "Are you seriously asking me this right now? Of course I know how to open a door." Sirius cursed. But then they heard a familiar voice from the other side of the door. "It is Peter!" Sirius said in astonishment. "When did he get in?" Peter answered. James, who was now out of bed and getting dressed, had no idea what his answer was. "What do you mean you sneaked behind us when we were arguing?" Remus said. "You little rat!" Sirius said. He started pounding on the door. "Come on, get out of there." "No!" Peter said sternly. "I will come out whenever I am ready. And don't try to Alomahora this lock, there is no use." There were a few seconds of silence and again a curse from Sirius. James guessed that they indeed tried to open the door with magic but without success.

Remus and Sirius walked back into the room. James looked at them. "Well, maybe if at least one of you three would maybe also take a shower in the evening. It would make things a bit easier and less chaotic in the morning." Sirius groaned. "Not this again! We already told you James. We hate showers in the evening. My whole pillow will be wet if I go to sleep after it." Remus nodded. "And I need the feeling of being clean in the morning. I cannot go to sleep and lay still for 8 hours and not shower after that." James shrugged. It was officially the Christmas holiday and he didn't feel like arguing with his friend. Especially when they had to spend the following week together. "Merlin's beard. This will take forever with him." Sirius started pacing around. "I think I have an idea." He grabbed his stuff and walked out of the door. James and Remus were looking at each other. "Do you have any idea?" Remus asked. James nodded. "Maybe he will use the one for the prefects?" Remus shrugged. "Maybe. He better not be caught then."

After almost ten minutes Peter finally came out of the shower. "Finally. Thanks for hurrying." Remus said sarcastically while passing him. James laughed. "Did you just shower longer, just to annoy them?" Peter nodded while smiling. I literally was done in like five minutes. I just sat down on the floor and waited. Did it piss them off?" James laughed. "Amazing. Yeah kind of. But Sirius had another idea or something. No idea where he went." But right at that moment Sirius returned. "I used the prefect's one." He had a victorious look in his eyes. "Guessed that! But maybe we should tell Remus something different?" Sirius eyes started to glimmer and his smile turned sly. "What did you had in mind, mate?" James shared his idea with Sirius and Peter. Both of them were nodding along with the plan. "Perfect! I will go into detail and try to make him as uncomfortable as possible." James high fived him. "Please do! But we do need to hurry up for breakfast though." Sirius started pounding on the bathroom door. "We will leave with a few minutes for breakfast, whether you are there or not, Remus!"

Remus took his time, so the three of them already descended towards the Great Hall. They sat down at the Gryffindor table. James started loading up two plates. "Mate, are you hungry or what?" Sirius asked while looking at him. "No, the other one is for Remus. I don't know if he will be here on time before the food disappears." James took some toast, sausages and scrambled eggs. He filled two cups with pumpkin juice and started eating his own breakfast. And indeed, the food disappeared from the table. The plates were still there. Usually they weren't summoned by the house-elves until 30 minutes after they took the food away. Remus arrived a few minutes later in a hurry. "Damn it! I missed the food." He sat down and looked disappointed. "Thank you very much guys. Because of you I cannot have breakfast." Sirius was about to argue with him when James held up his hands. "Just shut up! Both of you! I am sick of hearing you argue about a stupid shower. Remus, I grabbed you some breakfast. Here you go!" He moved the plate in front of Remus. "You did?" His eyes lit up. "Thank you!" James smiled. "No problem. So everybody, stop arguing. Figure something out for this shower situation. You are now punishing each other by taking more time in the bathroom than needed. It has even gotten so far that Sirius seriously showered at the girls this morning."

Remus choked on his sausage. "Excuse me?" He said while coughing. Sirius grinned at his friend. "Yes mate! While Peter was hogging the bathroom and I knew you would hex me if I tried to be the next one, I just took matters into my own hand. So I went to the girl dormitories and showered there." Remus was now taking a big sip of his pumpkin juice. "Bullshit. You cannot take the stairs. They turn into a slide if a boys tries to get up there." Sirius seemed a bit taken back and James was surprised. He had no idea. "Well, I found the spell that reversed that." Remus squinted his eyes. "I still don't believe you. What is the spell to turn stairs into a slide?" Remus smirked at him. Sirius was thinking fast. "That has nothing to do with it. I just know the reverse-spell. That is enough. Why would I ever use a spell that turns stairs into a slide?" Remus rolled his eyes. "Because you will find the reverse spell underneath it. Congratulations Sirius, you almost had me. You sure wished you could shower there." Sirius rolled his eyes. "No, thank you very much. You almost make me throw up my breakfast." Remus shoved Sirius. "No need to be this nasty, mate. There are some fine ladies in Gryffindor." James couldn't help to think of Lily now. There sure was something about her. But seeing her shower? He shivered a bit with that idea. She wasn't ugly at all! But somehow that felt like invading her privacy. James was sure she wouldn't like that! Somehow it hit him that he would be away from school two weeks now. That he wouldn't see a lot of people for that amount of time. And he didn't say goodbye to anyone at all. Not even Lily. He felt a sting in his stomach thinking about it. He had no idea where it came from, but he knew he had to see her before he left.

"Earth to James. You still there mate?" James nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Was just thinking about that I still need to pack one thing into my trunk before we head to the train. I will be right back." He didn't hear the protests that his friends were saying. He knew that the trunks were probably already on their way to the train, but this was just an excuse for something else. He walked quickly up towards the Gryffindor tower, hoping he would find what he was looking for. Or more like, who he was looking for. He arrived at the portrait. He gave the password and the Fat Lady swung open. He climbed into the common room and looked around. He heart jumped up a bit when he saw a red-haired girl talking to another girl near the fire place.

He walked over to her. "Hi Lily, hi Alice. How are you two doing?" The two girls looked up at him. "We are fine, thank you. How about you, James?" Alice answered. He was about to answer when Lily interrupted him. "We were kind of in a conversation here, James." James felt a bit uncomfortable right now. "Oh yeah, I see. Well, I am sorry. I just wanted to speak to you, Lily." There was frown between her eyebrows when he said that. "Speak to me?" James was now shifting on his feet. "Yeah, like.. maybe private?" Alice was looking back and forth between James and Lily. She looked like she was trying to figure out what was going on. Lily looked so surprised and confused that she was kind of lost for words. "Yeah, sure. I will walk with you." But Alice stood up. "No, it's fine. I need to find Frank anyway. I'll go. Enjoy your holiday James." James wished Alice the same and sat down on the chair that she just left unoccupied. "Okay, spill your beans." James looked into her emerald green eyes. He tried to swallow, but somehow his mouth was really dry all of the sudden.

"Well, I was just thinking about that I will head home for the holidays and won't be at Hogwarts for the upcoming two weeks. So I won't see you or something." Her eyes widened when he said this. "But not just you!" James added quickly. He was now fumbling on the sleeve of his robes. "Just like, a lot of people you know. Also eh, my eh, my teammates." Lily frowned, but smiled. "Okay, yeah that is true. But even if you stayed you still would not see me. I am also returning home for Christmas." James nodded. "Ah yeah, I see. Well that is nice. To be with your family I mean." But at the moment he said family he saw that her eyes flickered a bit and she stared at the floor. "Is it not nice to be with your family?" He asked. Lily looked up, looking kind of sad. "It is really nice, but it is complicated. Maybe a story for later!" James was thinking of ways to cheer her up. "Well, you can always come to my house if you want to. Remus, Sirius and Peter will also be there." As soon as he said it he could hit himself. Why would she ever want to do that? She barely talked to Peter or Sirius. This was just stupid. But Lily smiled. "Thank you, James. That is kind. But I will survive at home." James laughed nervously. "I sure hope you do. It be a waste if you didn't." Lily chuckled. "I guess! So is this what you wanted to say to me in private? You wanted to invite me over?" James couldn't help but to smile when he thought about having Lily over for Christmas. But somehow it felt weird. They barely spend any time alone at Hogwarts. So what must the be thinking right now? James Potter inviting Lily Evans over for Christmas, all by herself? "Well, that would also go for your friends of course." Lily smile faded a bit. "Oh I see, yeah. Yeah sure. Of course. Well, maybe you could invite them yourself if you really want them there. I already said my goodbyes to Marlene and Mary. They were picked up last night by their parents. Something about a holiday. So big chance they wouldn't be able to attend your Christmas party." Again James got the feeling he made a mistake by saying all of this stuff to Lily. She seemed a bit taken a back, maybe even offended. But by what? He was going over this conversation in his head. Yeah sure, this wasn't his best or smoothest conversation. But he was nice, he tried to cheer her up… so why was it that she gave him this feeling?

"Probably not, yeah. But okay, I just wanted to let you know. Well, Lily." James stood up. He didn't want to go, but he had no idea what to talk about furthermore without sounding stupid or forced. He looked again straight into her green eyes. He had never seen this shade of green before. "I hope you have a very good Christmas and a happy new year. See you in the new year!" Lily wished him the same with a white smile. "Thank you James. I wish you the same. Goodbye!" He waved and left. He returned back the corridors and just slumped down the first corner he saw. He groaned into his hands. "What was that? Why did I just do that? She must think you are a moron now! Stupid, stupid, stupid. Be cool from now on. What girl would want to hang with someone who is this nervous?" He heard some footsteps. "James, are you talking to yourself right now and what, in Merlin's beard, are you doing on the floor?" James looked up and in front of him were Sirius, Remus and Peter. "Yeah nothing. Just sat down for a moment. The trunks were already gone and the common room was to crowded for me." "Well, I still need to get my coat. So just stay here while I get it." Remus said and he walked to the Fat Lady. He disappeared into the hole. A few minutes later he returned back with his coat and a grin. He looked a bit suspiciously at James. "Okay, that was it. Ready guys?" Everybody nodded. The four of them walked down and made their way to the train. It was ready to head to the Potter Mansion for Christmas.

 **Authors note: I promised another chapter before the holidays and I delivered! Hopefully you guys like it! It isn't about Christmas yet, but that is in the next one. I was crazy busy the last week and will be with family and parties the upcoming days. So I had to find time in between stuff to write.**

 **This one is another one from James POV. I adjusted my chapters a bit. This one wasn't planned. So maybe you guys need to wait a bit longer for Lily's POV. But now that I wrote her into this story it could be easier to write about her from this point on. It leaves me with a bit more inspiration. If anyone has any questions or requests, please let me know. Also any feedback is welcome! Fav and/or follow to get a notification about any new chapters!**

 **To all my readers, I wish you very happy and blessed holidays! May it be filled with a lot of health, luck, patience, food, friendship, family, love and fun! Thank you for reading my story and making me happy!**


	22. Chapter 22 Second year adventures

The Christmas holiday so far was a blast. James, Sirius, Peter and Remus were having fun. They were sleeping in, mostly due to the fact they were staying up till late. They were playing Chess, Exploding Snaps and Quidditch. James enjoyed immensely from the fact that he was spending this holiday with his friends. There were a few days left before Peter and Remus would return home and he was thinking about their Christmas dinner. Well, James didn't know if dinner was the right word. It was more like a feast. Euphemia had brought her A-game. There was a lot of food, the decoration were beautiful and there were a bunch of presents. On Christmas morning when the four boys came down for breakfast James couldn't help to grin when seeing the expression on his friends faces. There were Christmas balls were floating in the air throughout the whole room and there were stars shooting from one side to the other in the kitchen and living room. On the walls were small, decorated Christmas trees with little plastic elves floating around them. In the middle of the living room there was a big Christmas tree, filled with the most bright colored Christmas balls, streamers and lights. On top of the tree was a beautiful golden lion, licking his paws and shaking his mane. Euphemia Potter had worn a special red dress, which was looking amazing with her dark, curls. "Good morning dears. Did you sleep well?" The three boys nodded while taking all the decorations in. James shook his head jokingly while smiling. "Yes, mother. You outdid yourself did year with the decorations. Are you trying to impress our guests?" Euphemia made a clicking noise with her tongue. "James dear, don't refer to your friends as guests. They are your friends and they should feel at home here." James rolled his eyes. His mother had made it her personal missions to make sure Sirius, Remus and Peter had felt at home since they were picked up from Kings Cross. She explained that they could take whatever they desired and if they didn't feel comfortable roaming in the cabinets yet, they could always ask her or Fleamont.

There were just a few rules that everyone had to follow. Remus, Peter and Sirius agreed instantly. "Of course, Mrs. Potter. We will follow every rule." Fleamont mumbled something under his breath that this would be probably the first time ever then in their lives. Sirius shifted a bit uncomfortable in the car seat when he heard this. "I would really enjoy it if we could eat breakfast together at 9. Dinner isn't mandatory, maybe you boys would like to eat somewhere at Diagon Alley for example, but I just ask you boys that you make sure I know in time. I cook exactly for the amount of people I expect for dinner and I don't like wasting food." The four boys nodded in agreement.

"Boys, if you could take a seat at the table. Breakfast will be ready any second now. And after breakfast everyone of you can open your presents. They can be found under the tree." When her sentence was finished their plates were filled with scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and two sausages. Their cups were filled with tea and Pumpkin Juice. Of course three twelve-year old's and one thirteen-year old loved getting presents, so they started wolfing down their breakfast. Peter was almost shoving down toast down his throat and he started to cough. "Boys. Slow down now." Fleamont said, while putting down the Daily Prophet. "Let's actually try to taste what my lovely wife has made. So chew please." Peter was now flushed and his neck got some weird, red spots in it. He avoided eye-contact with Fleamont and slowly bit in a piece of toast.

"Honey, did you know that Sleekeazy's will probably open a second store in Diagon Ally. That will be the fourth place you will be able to get our products just in Diagon Alley alone. Our store and wholesaler in Hogsmeade is doing great too." Fleamont took a sip of his pumpkin juice. Euphemia lay her hand on his. "That is great, darling. But that does sound like it saturated market maybe in Diagon Alley." Fleamont smiled and pinched her hand a little. "Yeah, we are aware of that risk. It is just that after a few surveys among our customers there is still a part of Diagon Alley that they kind of miss. We are close to Gringotts, there are two drugstore like stores that sell it but somehow on the other side of the street there is nothing. And there is a lot of shopping you can do only in that part, so somehow we feel that there is a possibility to sell more. And probably starting next summer we will also put an order form in the Daily Prophet and owl-delivery these orders." James listened to his parents talking about their business. It was officially from his father, he built it from scratch. But his mother also had quite a few shares. She didn't necessarily worked in a branch for the company but Fleamont always talked to her about their new strategies and ideas. He valued her opinion a lot and made sure that he knew what Euphemia thought about it.

James had no idea if his parents, or maybe just his father, expected him to take over the company. James didn't even knew if he wanted to. He knew that some people in Hogwarts were being prepped to take over the family company. For example Alistair, the Gryffindor Quidditch Team Captain. He was now in his seventh year. James knew that his parents basically choose his subjects for him to make sure he followed the classes that he needed to take over their shop at Diagon Alley. They had an apothecary where you also could get your ingredients for Potions class. James guessed that he also needed to read a lot of old books, since he also follow Ancient Runes, which Alistair greatly disliked. The thought of Alistair sighing deeply with his hands in his hair doing his homework quite late in the Common Room popped into James' head. Should I talk about it with dad? James thought. Maybe he doesn't expect me to, but he sure must have thought about it. Maybe I could ask him during this holiday, before heading back to Hogwarts. Even if he didn't expect it from James, he might still appreciate it if James maybe considered it. But the question was, would James want it?

The boys were quickly done with their breakfast, excited to open their presents. They rushed to the living room. "Wow, look at that! There are so many gifts." Peter said while grabbing one that had his name on it. Fleamont and Euphemia walked into the room, smiling at the sight of four boys in ecstasy from their gifts. "Did you wish we had more children after James? That we should have kept on trying?" Fleamont asked his wife while putting his arm around her shoulders. Euphemia had to think about that question for a bit. "No, I think it had to be like this. We tried for so long but we never succeeded until that faithful day in the fall. I think if we tried after James to get more kids we wouldn't succeed either. James is a miracle and a blessing. I am just happy that he has so many close friends. It feels like I have more children thanks to the fact that I have take care for four boys now." Fleamont couldn't help to smile while looking at his boy. "You are probably right. James was a handful sometimes and we weren't the youngest anymore, so maybe another would have exhausted us even more. Now we could watch James with the two of us, making sure we were always one step ahead of him. I must say it did not surprise me that he is still getting in trouble at school. Do you remember that one day we took him to the beach?"

Euphemia laughed when she thought back about that particular day. "That poor family and their dog. I still cannot believe James buried the dog up to his head in the sand. The whole family was in shock, but the dog seemed to like it. I still can't wrap my head around the fact how James could hold the dog still, dig the hole, burry the dog and still make him happy. He did not seem bothered at all by being stuck in the sand." Euphemia looked at her husband and couldn't help to feel a lot of love for him. She gave him a kiss and they both returned their attention to the boys. Remus was now unpacking massive piles of chocolate and couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, this one is from my parents." Peter said while reading a card that came enclosed with his present. "They send a present for me!" Sirius looked at the present that Peter was now opening with a unreadable expression on his face. "Sirius, honey, I think your parents also send you something. I think it's wrapped in something dark, like black and green or something similar." Euphemia said. Sirius looked at her with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Here it is!" James said. He grabbed a big gift, with black paper and a green ribbon. Sirius looked at the card attached to the ribbon. "From Mum and Dad." Sirius read out loud. He took the ribbon off, ripped the paper and inside was money. "Oh, look at that. Well, at least they thought about me, right?" He put the money down next to him and took his next present.

After 20 minutes all the gifts were unpacked and everybody was looking at each other's presents. Remus got chocolate, books, new scarf and mittens and a new chess-set. Peter was enriched with some new clothes, school stuff like quills and a lot of candy. Sirius got money, posters from the Muggle world such as pictures from ladies in bikinis, motorbikes and magical ones from Gryffindor. The Muggle ones were a gift from James, Peter and Remus. And the magical banners, posters and pictures Gryffindor were from Euphemia and Fleamont. They also gave Remus and Peter candy. James his presents were a broom maintenance kit for his broom, new school stuff, a lot of candy and money.

The boys spend their Christmas eating, playing games and playing Quidditch. Well, it was mostly James and Sirius who played. Remus barely cared for the sport and Peter tried, but he was in no physical shape of playing for longer than 5 minutes. After playing for almost an hour James and Sirius quit. Remus was sitting on the porch, next to the firepit with a book. Peter didn't stop looking at the match between James and Sirius. Today was the last day Remus and Peter were staying at the Potter Mansion. Tomorrow they would return home, back to their families. Sirius would stay the whole holiday. Remus and Peter would be reunited with James and Peter at Kings Cross to return back to Hogwarts in the new year.

James and Sirius joined Remus and Peter on the porch. Remus put his book down. "Hey James, can I ask you something?" James nodded. "Well, your house is quite big. Indeed a mansion, if you would say so. But how come that there are no house-elves here? Usually the purebloods have them, especially in a house of this size." James couldn't help but smile at the words about the size of his house. "Well, there are bigger mansions out there than this one." Sirius rolled his eyes. "Yeah, take a look at my house. It is still quite a big house, but no mansion, not even close. But we have a house-elf. He is totally mental though, Kreacher is his name. But just like I said, we have one and our house is smaller." James knew what they were talking about. He thought back to some conversation his parents had a couple of times in his youth.

"Euphemia, darling. Why wouldn't we take one?" Euphemia slammed down her hand. "Because I don't want to. And besides, how could we even get one? They are connected to families. Should we steal one from your aunt, Fleamont? Is hat what you want?" Fleamont shook his head. "Of course that is not what I want. You know what I mean. There are families trying to get rid of theirs or maybe we could buy one from Hogwarts. There are several ways to get one." Euphemia was now the one who shook her head. "No, I think it's horrible to have on. Just like your own little slave. What difference is it to those views that those awful people have on Muggles? They are not less than we are. We should treat them as equals and we don't do that by making them work for us, clean for us, cook for us or whatever it is that we want them to do." Fleamont threw his hands up in the air. "Honey, I am just worried for you. We have a small boy we now need to take care of. So the only reason I suggested this is because I want to make it easier for you. We don't have to look at money at all, we can spare it. So you can focus on James and the stuff you like to do. Not on cleaning the house, laundry and cooking." Fleamont thought he was being a considerate husband, thinking about the needs of his wife who was now a mother of a six-year old.

"Did it ever occur to you at all that I do not mind doing all those things? That I might love to cook? To look at a clean house knowing it was me who did it?" Euphemia hissed at her husband, clearly hurt and insulted. "I know how to take care of my boy and my house, thank you very much. I've done this for many, many years and now that I have James with me all the time doesn't change a thing. I will still do it and just as good as before." Fleamont was quiet. He was surprised. Never in a million years he had thought about this from this point of view. "But honey, I know that. And I didn't mean it like that. Of course I know you can do all of it now that you have James with you. You are the best mother and wife I know. And you will still succeed in cooking and maintaining the house." Euphemia looked at her husband. She knew he didn't meant it that way. "It's okay. Let's drop it, okay? I don't want one, we don't need one. If things will go south in the upcoming months I might reconsider."

James knew that after that conversation his father maybe brought it op once again before James asking about it just a few months before he went to Hogwarts. His mother still didn't want to hear a single word about it. So James told this story, but in a shorter version, to his friends. They al understood. "I have so much more respect for your mother than I already had." Remus said. "Mostly because of the way she looks at minorities in the wizarding world. I wonder what she would say if she knew about my, eh, my condition." He said after a pause. James thought about this. And to be honest, he had no idea how his mother would react. If she would be repulsed by it, she wouldn't show. That he knew for sure. But he didn't know if she would be repulsed by it. Somehow werewolves were a bit different than house-elves. Especially since house-elves were a lot less threatening.

"I think she would be okay with it, you know." James somehow tried to think how his mother did. "She would be shocked and maybe a bit afraid. But she met you, she knows you. So every prejudice about werewolves being mean are thrown in the wind because of you. To be honest, she adores you. Every single one of you, by the way. So I think she would be worried, but mostly about you. How you handle it and how you feel." James suddenly felt sure that this would be the way his mother would feel about Remus. "How do you know this so surely?" Remus asked, with red cheeks. "Because she would feel the same way as me about this."

 **Authors note: Sorry for the long wait! Writers block, they are killing me. I have so many ideas, but they are not for this year right now. In their third year they can visit Hogwarts for example. I am looking forward into writing those adventures over their. And slowly they will start the progress of becoming Animagi.**

 **So I just have to keep writing until I reach them. Hopefully you guys like this chapter! Any suggestions what you would like to see in the second part of their second year?**

 **If you have any feedback please tell me! Reviews are always welcome and if you want to keep updated just follow and/or fav.**


	23. Chapter 23 Second year adventures

James and Sirius sat in the car with James his parents. They were driving in London and were just a few minutes away from Kings Cross. "You boys have everything?" Euphemia asked. Both of them nodded. "If I do find something I will send it with the owl to you, okay?" They nodded again. "Thank you once again for letting me stay here for the whole holiday. I had an amazing time." Sirius said. "Oh, that is no problem at all, dear. We love having you over. You are always welcome!" Euphemia said. "Indeed! And stop thanking us! There is no trouble at all. Our house is big enough and we love the company." Fleamont added.

Soon they parked at Kings Cross. James and Sirius got their trunks out of car and James his owl out of the car and waited for Euphemia to return with a cart. "Okay, I got one. I think we need to step on it a little, since we only have 15 minutes left. Who knows if we can go through the wall in the first minutes." Euphemia said hastily. The four of them walked quit quickly into the station and towards platform 9 and 10. "Okay, honey. You go first with Sirius. I will follow with James." She said to Fleamont. Fleamont put his hand on Sirius his shoulder and acted like he wanted to show him something on the train on platform 9, while leaning against the wall. Slowly they glided through it, without waking up any suspicion. "Okay, let's go, dear." She put her hand on James his back and started walking towards the wall, while talking to him. Before they glided through she gave one quick look around and nobody was paying any attention to them. A few seconds later they arrived at Platform 9 ¾. The train was already steaming and people were hopping in carriages and saying goodbye to their parents. Close to the end of the train they saw Remus and Peter. They waved and walked over. "We already got us a carriage!" Fleamont helped Sirius and James with their trunks. Sirius said his goodbye to the Potters and got into the carriage with Remus and Peter. James was standing outside with his parents. "This is it then honey! Now you know that you are more than welcome to stay over for Easter, right? Just write us if you want to!" James nodded. "I know and I will let you know. Thank you for everything. The good and having my friends over. I had an amazing time." Euphemia hugged her son tightly. "No problem! They are always welcome! Anyone of your friends at Hogwarts is! So, be good this term! Listen to your teachers. Go to class, do your homework! But most importantly, enjoy yourself! These are the best years of your life! I love you, honey. And I will miss you!" She hugged James tightly again before realizing him. James turned to his dad. "Yes son. Do what your mother says. Kick some butt at Quidditch as well! And don't forget to write once in a while. We will miss you!" He hugged his son and gave him a sweep through his hair. James hopped on the train. "I love you mum and dad! Save drive home!" Fleamont waved, Euphemia threw a kiss with her hand before walking away.

James walked to his friends. "So, you guys got a good last week at home?" He asked, while sitting down next to Peter. They both nodded. The four of them told all of their activities during the train ride. After a couple of hours the with the candy cart stopped at their door. "Can I interest someone in something?" She asked. Everybody nodded. "My treat boys!" James said. "Get whatever you want!" He heard some protests, but he waved them away. "I got some extra pocket money from my dad. They had a good year at the firm and I want to share it with you guys! Get whatever you want and how much you need or think you need." Everybody shrugged their shoulders and they got a load of food. Remus candy consisted out of 80% of chocolate and some other sweets. Peter had a lot of cakes. Sirius and James had a lot of everything. The rest of the train ride was being filled with laugher, eating and visits from fellow friends from Quidditch and Gryffindor.

Soon they arrived at the station at Hogwarts. The boys just changed into their robes and quickly stuffed their pockets with their remaining candy. They grabbed their luggage and James also his owl and made their way down to the platform. It was drizzling slightly and the wind was cold. Everybody quickly walked towards the carriages and got in. they couldn't wait until they got to the warm castle that was waiting for them with their dorms ready and warm.

The four friends made their up to the Gryffindor tower, carrying their trunks and the owl with them. "Okay, let's dump our stuff and go down to eat!" Sirius said while rubbing his stomach. "I am starving." Quickly they made their down again and found a few seats free at the table of Gryffindor. Dinner was quite good and everybody was more than full. Back in the common room they sat down next to fire and looked at the hole watching other Gryffindors walk in slowly, one by one.

"Hey guys, I was thinking about something." James said warily. He had been thinking about this for the last part of their Christmas holiday. Somehow he felt like it was time now. "Well, we did that potion last time for Slughorn, right? And I know Snivellus won that price. But who cares? Who is happy with 3 unicorn hairs?" Peter snorted. "Well, of course you say that. Do you know how much money that is worth?" James shrugged. "Money is nice and all, but not what life is about." Peter looked at him with big eyes. "Of course _you_ would say that. You have money. You have no idea what it is to live with almost no money." James looked confused at his friend. "I know I have money and that you have a tight budget back home. But I am not saying that because I _have_ money. I say it because I truly believe in that. Yes, I do not know how it is to live on a tight budget, but that doesn't mean that I don't appreciate unicorn hair and their worth." Remus put up his hands. "Okay, I have the feeling this could get out of hand. You both have a point. James, Peter has the feeling you would probably not say that if you knew what it is like to live on a very tight budget. And Peter, James means that even if you can win something that you can sell, it isn't all about money in the world. So please, can we get pass this before money will get us into a fight?" James looked at Peter, who looked a bit ashamed. "Sorry Pete. I know money is tight and there is indeed a big chance that I would not speak like that if I had less money. I am privileged in my life. It gives me the ability to look differently at stuff or even look at other stuff. I don't have to worry about clothes, books, food etc. So I can worry about other stuff, maybe stuff that people with less money will never think about." Peter smiled a little. "Yeah, it is fine. I am happy for you that you have that life. You are not snubbed at all, thank Merlin. You don't rub it in our faces. Sorry for getting so defensive about it. It is just a touchy subject for me." James nodded understanding. "Well, what I wanted to say is. We now have a bit of experience in working on a potion for a bigger amount of time, so maybe we could start that special potion we were talking about earlier this year."

The other three looked at James. Sirius started smiling after a few seconds. "Oh yes, mate. You know I was ready ages ago, but Remus made us wait and wait." Remus rolled his eyes. "And for a good cause. I will still try to postpone it. Hoping it would never happen. You guys don't have to do this. At least, not for me. I – I – I can't ask that from you. What if you get caught?" Remus started sounding a bit desperate. "Come on, Remus. We talked about it. We are willing to take that risk. Who will recognize that potion instantly? If we get caught we will make sure it vanishes in a few seconds." Remus was looking desperately for another excuse. "But what if it is Slughorn? He would recognize it immediately, just as McGonagall. And imagine the trouble we would get in! How many rules will we break by just already brewing this potion? And those are just school rules. What happens if you guys take it? You will become Animagi, but illegal ones! That goes way further than just breaking school rules, that applies to the law of the community." Remus started rambling, but he realized where he was and how public they were. His voice became a whisper, but somehow it sounded more pleading and scared. "If you take it and get caught, you will need to go trial. What would your parents say? You would be expelled from Hogwarts or even worse. Your wands might get snapped for breaking all these rules! The risk you will take for just doing this to be with me… it is not worth it, okay? Don't do it!" Remus had a panicked look in his eyes.

Sirius was looking at his friend, but with an amusing look on his face. "Are you done with your big speech? Good! Listen mate, we know the risks. But so what? Are we supposed to know about your transformations and how painful they are? We want to be there for you, all of us. We want to support you and help you make it easier. We cannot cure you and your 'furry little problem', but we can be by your side, literally." James nodded. "Indeed! Remus, we are more than willing to take these risks and yes, indeed for you. But that is no burden for us, just like you are not a burden for us. So stop feeling like one and just accept this. Even if you don't agree with this, we will still do it. Than we will roam the forest without and maybe coincidentally also be there during that time of the month." Remus looked at his friends, one by one. "And what is life without a little bit of risk, right? I get a little bit tired with just detention. It is either cleaning stuff or helping some teacher with something. Wow, that is such a punishment. The punishment was so bad that I will not do that again! NOT!" Sirius added, while smiling. "Not even cleaning floors with Pringle is a punishment that big enough that I would stop doing all these pranks and stupid stuff."

"Fine. Whatever. I see I cannot change your minds, but I did warn you." Remus laid back in his chair and crossed his arms in front of chest, refusing to look at them. "Oh come off it! This will be fun!" Peter said. "James, I am in! Let's start this potion." James high fived Peter. "Great. Okay, so we will need three different cauldrons and some crystal vials. Extra ones, since we still need ours for Potions. So will order tomorrow morning three cauldrons and vials with the Daily Prophet. But before we can brew that potion, we will need some mandrake leaves. But what exactly must be done with that and the steps after that I cannot remember. Do we still have that book somewhere?" Sirius nodded. "I put on our desk in the dorm. But let's go get those mandrake leaves then. Where is your cloak, James?" James ran upstairs to grab his invisibility cloak.

There was a bit of an argument who would go with James. Sirius had the idea that he somehow had dibs, but in the end it was Remus who came along. "If we get caught by someone, not McGonagall, but someone else, there is a big chance they might let us of the hook when I am with you. I only got detention a few times, but most of the teachers like me." James had to chuckle. "And they don't like me?" Remus snorted. "Yeah, I dare to say they will like you. But they also think you are a pain in the ass. If you maybe would stop disturbing the classes, get less detention and stop hexing other students you would get away with a lot of stuff as well. So if we a teacher and we are about to get caught, you hide under the cloak and I will see what I can do. As long as they don't see you, we might get away with this."

Soon they arrived at the greenhouses. They went into number three, where a bit more dangerous plants were. "There should be mandrakes here that are fully grown. As long as we don't pull them out of their pot we should be alright." Remus whispered. They slowly walked along some vines and plants. "I see them." James said, while pointing at something a few meters away. Little did they know that something creeping up on them, slowly on the ground. They walked to the pots and looked at each other. "Okay, we should have brought earmuffs. What if we grab one by accident and pull it out of the pot? We could die. They are as good as full-grown now." Remus said a bit panicked. "Sst, we won't. How about you keep the Mandrake down and I pick the leaves?" James offered. Remus nodded and put his hand on the roots and pushed them down. James put his thumb and index finger on a leaf and pulled. It easily came off. "Keep pushing. I need a small stash in case one of us swallows one or spits it out and we need to start over again." He picked a around twelve leaves. Four each should be enough, otherwise they should make another leave-run.

Quickly they returned to the castle. They slid through the doors quite easily. Making sure their footsteps were as quiet as possible they made their way back up to the tower. Pringle was nowhere to be seen, they only passed a few ghosts who didn't notice them. Back in the dorm they saw that Peter and Sirius were still awake. "Did you guys do it?" Peter asked. Remus nodded and James showed them the leaves. "Great! We will start first thing in the morning. I am curious how difficult this will be while eating or even sleeping. What if we swallow it during our sleep?" James shrugged. "Just try to eat stuff that is easy to swallow and stuff them as deep and high in your cheeks as possible. And for sleeping as well I guess. And I got us more leaves, for a stash. There is chance we won't succeed the first time we try." Everybody nodded.

"Okay, well. Start tomorrow morning, right?" Peter asked. "Yeah. Tomorrow sounds alright. Then we need to keep it in our mouth until February 10th." Everybody agreed silently. "Okay, off to bed then!" James changed into his pajama's and went to bed. His sleep was quite restless. He dreamed about his mouth being stuffed full with leaves and barely able to sleep. He woke up two times during the night where he just shot up, his forehead full with sweat and heavy breathing. Oh come on, James, he thought. Why are you acting like this? There is no reason to dream all this stuff, nothing is going to happen. This wasn't even the trickiest part of the whole transformation yet. The whole transformation required a lot of patience and also luck. One mistake that you didn't notice could leave you as a permanent mutation of a half-human, half-animal creature. James shivered with that thought. He felt no fear, but he didn't particularly looked forward to this possibility either. Well, he thought, that means we just have to get everything right. And if we don't or we are unsure, we just need to start again. This thought stuck in his head and finally he fell asleep again around four in the morning.

 **Authors note: And so they start the progress of becoming Animagi! They won't succeed until their fifth year of course, since I try to do the story as much justice as they were told in the books. Or at least, the parts we were told about the Marauders. The whole transformation is quite long and if anything happens you should start over again. So I will see where my imagination will take us with this!**

 **If anyone has any questions, feedback, comments or wishes just let me now! You can also leave a review for the story of course! And if you want a message whenever I post a new chapter, just fav and/or follow this story or me!**


	24. Chapter 24 Second year adventures

James and Sirius sat in the car with James his parents. They were driving in London and were just a few minutes away from Kings Cross. "You boys have everything?" Euphemia asked. Both of them nodded. "If I do find something I will send it with the owl to you, okay?" They nodded again. "Thank you once again for letting me stay here for the whole holiday. I had an amazing time." Sirius said. "Oh, that is no problem at all, dear. We love having you over. You are always welcome!" Euphemia said. "Indeed! And stop thanking us! There is no trouble at all. Our house is big enough and we love the company." Fleamont added.

Soon they parked at Kings Cross. James and Sirius got their trunks out of car and James his owl out of the car and waited for Euphemia to return with a cart. "Okay, I got one. I think we need to step on it a little, since we only have 15 minutes left. Who knows if we can go through the wall in the first minutes." Euphemia said hastily. The four of them walked quit quickly into the station and towards platform 9 and 10. "Okay, honey. You go first with Sirius. I will follow with James." She said to Fleamont. Fleamont put his hand on Sirius his shoulder and acted like he wanted to show him something on the train on platform 9, while leaning against the wall. Slowly they glided through it, without waking up any suspicion. "Okay, let's go, dear." She put her hand on James his back and started walking towards the wall, while talking to him. Before they glided through she gave one quick look around and nobody was paying any attention to them. A few seconds later they arrived at Platform 9 ¾. The train was already steaming and people were hopping in carriages and saying goodbye to their parents. Close to the end of the train they saw Remus and Peter. They waved and walked over. "We already got us a carriage!" Fleamont helped Sirius and James with their trunks. Sirius said his goodbye to the Potters and got into the carriage with Remus and Peter. James was standing outside with his parents. "This is it then honey! Now you know that you are more than welcome to stay over for Easter, right? Just write us if you want to!" James nodded. "I know and I will let you know. Thank you for everything. The good and having my friends over. I had an amazing time." Euphemia hugged her son tightly. "No problem! They are always welcome! Anyone of your friends at Hogwarts is! So, be good this term! Listen to your teachers. Go to class, do your homework! But most importantly, enjoy yourself! These are the best years of your life! I love you, honey. And I will miss you!" She hugged James tightly again before realizing him. James turned to his dad. "Yes son. Do what your mother says. Kick some butt at Quidditch as well! And don't forget to write once in a while. We will miss you!" He hugged his son and gave him a sweep through his hair. James hopped on the train. "I love you mum and dad! Save drive home!" Fleamont waved, Euphemia threw a kiss with her hand before walking away.

James walked to his friends. "So, you guys got a good last week at home?" He asked, while sitting down next to Peter. They both nodded. The four of them told all of their activities during the train ride. After a couple of hours the with the candy cart stopped at their door. "Can I interest someone in something?" She asked. Everybody nodded. "My treat boys!" James said. "Get whatever you want!" He heard some protests, but he waved them away. "I got some extra pocket money from my dad. They had a good year at the firm and I want to share it with you guys! Get whatever you want and how much you need or think you need." Everybody shrugged their shoulders and they got a load of food. Remus candy consisted out of 80% of chocolate and some other sweets. Peter had a lot of cakes. Sirius and James had a lot of everything. The rest of the train ride was being filled with laugher, eating and visits from fellow friends from Quidditch and Gryffindor.

Soon they arrived at the station at Hogwarts. The boys just changed into their robes and quickly stuffed their pockets with their remaining candy. They grabbed their luggage and James also his owl and made their way down to the platform. It was drizzling slightly and the wind was cold. Everybody quickly walked towards the carriages and got in. they couldn't wait until they got to the warm castle that was waiting for them with their dorms ready and warm.

The four friends made their up to the Gryffindor tower, carrying their trunks and the owl with them. "Okay, let's dump our stuff and go down to eat!" Sirius said while rubbing his stomach. "I am starving." Quickly they made their down again and found a few seats free at the table of Gryffindor. Dinner was quite good and everybody was more than full. Back in the common room they sat down next to fire and looked at the hole watching other Gryffindors walk in slowly, one by one.

"Hey guys, I was thinking about something." James said warily. He had been thinking about this for the last part of their Christmas holiday. Somehow he felt like it was time now. "Well, we did that potion last time for Slughorn, right? And I know Snivellus won that price. But who cares? Who is happy with 3 unicorn hairs?" Peter snorted. "Well, of course you say that. Do you know how much money that is worth?" James shrugged. "Money is nice and all, but not what life is about." Peter looked at him with big eyes. "Of course _you_ would say that. You have money. You have no idea what it is to live with almost no money." James looked confused at his friend. "I know I have money and that you have a tight budget back home. But I am not saying that because I _have_ money. I say it because I truly believe in that. Yes, I do not know how it is to live on a tight budget, but that doesn't mean that I don't appreciate unicorn hair and their worth." Remus put up his hands. "Okay, I have the feeling this could get out of hand. You both have a point. James, Peter has the feeling you would probably not say that if you knew what it is like to live on a very tight budget. And Peter, James means that even if you can win something that you can sell, it isn't all about money in the world. So please, can we get pass this before money will get us into a fight?" James looked at Peter, who looked a bit ashamed. "Sorry Pete. I know money is tight and there is indeed a big chance that I would not speak like that if I had less money. I am privileged in my life. It gives me the ability to look differently at stuff or even look at other stuff. I don't have to worry about clothes, books, food etc. So I can worry about other stuff, maybe stuff that people with less money will never think about." Peter smiled a little. "Yeah, it is fine. I am happy for you that you have that life. You are not snubbed at all, thank Merlin. You don't rub it in our faces. Sorry for getting so defensive about it. It is just a touchy subject for me." James nodded understanding. "Well, what I wanted to say is. We now have a bit of experience in working on a potion for a bigger amount of time, so maybe we could start that special potion we were talking about earlier this year."

The other three looked at James. Sirius started smiling after a few seconds. "Oh yes, mate. You know I was ready ages ago, but Remus made us wait and wait." Remus rolled his eyes. "And for a good cause. I will still try to postpone it. Hoping it would never happen. You guys don't have to do this. At least, not for me. I – I – I can't ask that from you. What if you get caught?" Remus started sounding a bit desperate. "Come on, Remus. We talked about it. We are willing to take that risk. Who will recognize that potion instantly? If we get caught we will make sure it vanishes in a few seconds." Remus was looking desperately for another excuse. "But what if it is Slughorn? He would recognize it immediately, just as McGonagall. And imagine the trouble we would get in! How many rules will we break by just already brewing this potion? And those are just school rules. What happens if you guys take it? You will become Animagi, but illegal ones! That goes way further than just breaking school rules, that applies to the law of the community." Remus started rambling, but he realized where he was and how public they were. His voice became a whisper, but somehow it sounded more pleading and scared. "If you take it and get caught, you will need to go trial. What would your parents say? You would be expelled from Hogwarts or even worse. Your wands might get snapped for breaking all these rules! The risk you will take for just doing this to be with me… it is not worth it, okay? Don't do it!" Remus had a panicked look in his eyes.

Sirius was looking at his friend, but with an amusing look on his face. "Are you done with your big speech? Good! Listen mate, we know the risks. But so what? Are we supposed to know about your transformations and how painful they are? We want to be there for you, all of us. We want to support you and help you make it easier. We cannot cure you and your 'furry little problem', but we can be by your side, literally." James nodded. "Indeed! Remus, we are more than willing to take these risks and yes, indeed for you. But that is no burden for us, just like you are not a burden for us. So stop feeling like one and just accept this. Even if you don't agree with this, we will still do it. Than we will roam the forest without and maybe coincidentally also be there during that time of the month." Remus looked at his friends, one by one. "And what is life without a little bit of risk, right? I get a little bit tired with just detention. It is either cleaning stuff or helping some teacher with something. Wow, that is such a punishment. The punishment was so bad that I will not do that again! NOT!" Sirius added, while smiling. "Not even cleaning floors with Pringle is a punishment that big enough that I would stop doing all these pranks and stupid stuff."

"Fine. Whatever. I see I cannot change your minds, but I did warn you." Remus laid back in his chair and crossed his arms in front of chest, refusing to look at them. "Oh come off it! This will be fun!" Peter said. "James, I am in! Let's start this potion." James high fived Peter. "Great. Okay, so we will need three different cauldrons and some crystal vials. Extra ones, since we still need ours for Potions. So will order tomorrow morning three cauldrons and vials with the Daily Prophet. But before we can brew that potion, we will need some mandrake leaves. But what exactly must be done with that and the steps after that I cannot remember. Do we still have that book somewhere?" Sirius nodded. "I put on our desk in the dorm. But let's go get those mandrake leaves then. Where is your cloak, James?" James ran upstairs to grab his invisibility cloak.

There was a bit of an argument who would go with James. Sirius had the idea that he somehow had dibs, but in the end it was Remus who came along. "If we get caught by someone, not McGonagall, but someone else, there is a big chance they might let us of the hook when I am with you. I only got detention a few times, but most of the teachers like me." James had to chuckle. "And they don't like me?" Remus snorted. "Yeah, I dare to say they will like you. But they also think you are a pain in the ass. If you maybe would stop disturbing the classes, get less detention and stop hexing other students you would get away with a lot of stuff as well. So if we a teacher and we are about to get caught, you hide under the cloak and I will see what I can do. As long as they don't see you, we might get away with this."

Soon they arrived at the greenhouses. They went into number three, where a bit more dangerous plants were. "There should be mandrakes here that are fully grown. As long as we don't pull them out of their pot we should be alright." Remus whispered. They slowly walked along some vines and plants. "I see them." James said, while pointing at something a few meters away. Little did they know that something creeping up on them, slowly on the ground. They walked to the pots and looked at each other. "Okay, we should have brought earmuffs. What if we grab one by accident and pull it out of the pot? We could die. They are as good as full-grown now." Remus said a bit panicked. "Sst, we won't. How about you keep the Mandrake down and I pick the leaves?" James offered. Remus nodded and put his hand on the roots and pushed them down. James put his thumb and index finger on a leaf and pulled. It easily came off. "Keep pushing. I need a small stash in case one of us swallows one or spits it out and we need to start over again." He picked a around twelve leaves. Four each should be enough, otherwise they should make another leave-run.

Quickly they returned to the castle. They slid through the doors quite easily. Making sure their footsteps were as quiet as possible they made their way back up to the tower. Pringle was nowhere to be seen, they only passed a few ghosts who didn't notice them. Back in the dorm they saw that Peter and Sirius were still awake. "Did you guys do it?" Peter asked. Remus nodded and James showed them the leaves. "Great! We will start first thing in the morning. I am curious how difficult this will be while eating or even sleeping. What if we swallow it during our sleep?" James shrugged. "Just try to eat stuff that is easy to swallow and stuff them as deep and high in your cheeks as possible. And for sleeping as well I guess. And I got us more leaves, for a stash. There is chance we won't succeed the first time we try." Everybody nodded.

"Okay, well. Start tomorrow morning, right?" Peter asked. "Yeah. Tomorrow sounds alright. Then we need to keep it in our mouth until February 10th." Everybody agreed silently. "Okay, off to bed then!" James changed into his pajama's and went to bed. His sleep was quite restless. He dreamed about his mouth being stuffed full with leaves and barely able to sleep. He woke up two times during the night where he just shot up, his forehead full with sweat and heavy breathing. Oh come on, James, he thought. Why are you acting like this? There is no reason to dream all this stuff, nothing is going to happen. This wasn't even the trickiest part of the whole transformation yet. The whole transformation required a lot of patience and also luck. One mistake that you didn't notice could leave you as a permanent mutation of a half-human, half-animal creature. James shivered with that thought. He felt no fear, but he didn't particularly looked forward to this possibility either. Well, he thought, that means we just have to get everything right. And if we don't or we are unsure, we just need to start again. This thought stuck in his head and finally he fell asleep again around four in the morning.


	25. Chapter 25 Second year adventures

The next morning at breakfast the owl-post came. James looked in the sky and there was a big package coming his way. It was the biggest one in the whole mail and it was so big and heavy that eight owls were holding it up and bringing it. It did not only caught the attention of the four friends, but also from a lot of fellow students and even some teachers were looking. The owls arrived at James, but didn't drop the big box thanks Merlin. They kept flying a little bit above the table, with took a great deal of strength. "Quick, untie it! Peter, Sirius, you two keep your hands on the box while James and I untie it." Remus said while spring up. James followed his friend and started untying the box from the legs of the owls. "Hurry up and quickly help us after that, this thing is crazy heavy!" Peter huffed. Remus and James were working on both their last owl. Once they were done, the owls immediately flew away. The four of them heaved the box over the table. Sirius and Remus looked around, but saw that everybody was looking at them. "Whatever!" Sirius said. "Come on, Remus. Over the table!" Remus head shot up. "Over the what now?" But Sirius grabbed him by his collar and dragged him with him over the table.

"Black, Lupin. What in heavens name are you doing?" It was McGonagall. Remus looked at his shoes, but Sirius looked at her, smiling. "Ah, my dear professor. We just got some mail. You see how big it is? We needed to support this and also get this to one side of the table, you see? It would be an hassle to walk with this box up high above everyone's head trying to reach the end of the table." McGonagall narrowed her eyes. "I will let you go for damaging school property now. But may I ask what the box contains?" Peter started coughing. James was thinking quickly, just like Remus and Sirius. "Well." James said. "You see professor, that is a surprise." McGonagall eyebrows shot up, towards the edge of her hat. "A surprise, you say?" James nodded. He was thinking quickly. Who's birthday was next? Sirius just had it. James and Remus weren't until March and Peter his birthday was in May. He looked around the table and spotted his answer. "Yes, but you can't tell her. You see professor, it is Lily her birthday at the end of this month. So we ordered some banners, strings, balloons and other special birthday stuff." McGonagall was now watching Peter intensely. He was having a harder time each minute that passed with holding up the box, which was weighing heavily, due to the cauldrons. "Don't you think…" McGonagall slowly started talking, with her eyes on the box. It almost seemed like she was trying to look through the cardboard to look to its content. "That it is a bit on the heavy side for just birthday stuff?" She kept staring at Peter, but he was smart enough to keep looking down. She moved her gaze now to James, who was smiling and tried to make the box look as light as possible. "No, it weighs almost nothing. I guess the Daily Prophet only had their weak owls left. And Peter, oh yes our poor Peter. He has an ache in his back. Slept somehow in a weird position apparently last night." McGonagall was silent. Finally, which seemed like forever, she said something. "Fine. Take it to your dorms. But Potter, I don't know what you have in that box, but I doubt it is stuff for festivities. Whatever you have their with you, it better not be something illegal or for a prank. If I catch you or anyone of you with something weird or extraordinary, you are mine. Got it?" The four of them nodded. "Of course professor. We couldn't agree more! If you do catch us with something that breaks a rule, we of course will undergo our punishment. But could we go now? I don't think Peter will hold it any longer." McGonagall nodded and walked back to her table. Remus let out a deep breath.

"Thanks Merlin that went okay. Let's get this out in the hallway. I will hex it so we don't have to carry it." They slowly moved out in the hall and tried to find a spot to put the box down. Peter was now sweating like crazy. "Quick guys, put it down. It starts to slip away from me." They quickly put the box down. "I will levitate the box to our dorm." Remus said while whipping out his wand. He pointed it at the box. "Wingardium Leviosa." The box rose in the air like it weighed almost nothing. They walked up the stairs, but didn't make it past the stairs between the second and third floor. They were almost at the top of the stairs when James felt something brush next to his head and a few meters in front of him the wall got hit by whatever it was that James just avoided. James grabbed his wand, turned on his heels and looked down the stairs. There they were, the group of second year Slytherins. Aubrey, Mulciber, Avery, Rosier and Snape. Mulciber had his wand pointed at James, Aubrey at Sirius, Avery at Peter, Rosier at Remus and Snape at the box. "Well, well. Won't you look at that. The four musketeers and a big box." Mulciber commented. "Do us a favor, boys. Why won't you open that box for us? We are curious what it contains. A box that big and heavy should be something good, especially when you are all involved." James saw that Sirius was looking at him out of the corners of his eyes. "And why in Merlins name would we do that?" James said coolly. "You might tricked McGonagall into letting you walk away without knowing what it is in that box, but we won't. when all of you acted so easy and relaxed, we knew something was up. So what is it? Your next big prank? Or maybe an inflatable girlfriend for Pettigrew over there?" The Slytherins roared with laughter.

Peter head instantly became red. He tried to search for a good comeback, but he couldn't find one. He just stood there, looking ashamed and defeated. "Hey dung brains. How about you put your money where your mouth is?" Sirius called back the group. James looked at him and he was the complete opposite of Peter. Sirius stood there, strong and big. He radiant power and self-assured. "You really think we will just hand you our box? And I thought you guys couldn't even get more stupid than you already were. Guess I was wrong." James laughed at this insult. "They always seem to surprise us, don't they mate? Maybe we should thank them for that. We don't nearly give them enough credit for surprising us when we already have such low standards." James added.

The group of Slytherins roared in anger. "We should teach you lot a lesson." Avery said, while pointed his wand from Peter to James. James shrugged. "I doubt if we can actually learn something from you, but hey, just give it a shot." Avery shot a spell at James, but he blocked it easily. He definitely had an advance on the group being a bit higher then them. "Mates, what should I do? Continue to the tower or put the box down and help you? I don't have my wand right now if I keep levitating this thing." Remus said while holding the box behind them, quite low to the ground. James thought quickly. The Slytherins wanted the box. They would probably try to stun Remus if he walked away. And if Remus left, then they were left three against five. James didn't mind a duel, but somehow those odds were keeping him from attacking straight away. "Just try to levitate the box slowly around the corner if possible and then help us." He muttered from the corner of his mouth to Remus.

"Oy blokes, we will say it one more time. Levitate that box to us and let us have a peek inside." Sirius smirked arrogant. "Or else?" Avery squinted his eyes and moved his wand over to Sirius, pointing it towards his chest. "Well, big chance we will make you." Sirius looked at James. James looked at Remus, who now almost made sure the box was around the corner without the Slytherins noticing. It was sometimes so easy to distract them, just insult them. But he cheered to early. Before he knew it Snape shot an jinx from his wand towards the box and it. The box was now halfway around the corner. "Did you really think none of us would notice?" He said softly. "You all think you are so great. Invincible and untouchable. Well, that isn't true. There are more from us and we want to see that box." James shot one eyebrow up. "That sounds like a challenge Snivellus and we accept." Everybody raised there wands higher and now it was just waiting until someone fired the first spell.

James was looking at Snivellus in disgust and he was returning the favor with even a more disgusted look if that was even possible. Snape raised his wand but instead of pointing at James he shot a jinx towards the box. Remus quickly gave the box a kick, making the jinx miss not only the box, but also his leg by just a few centimeters. Sirius raised his wand and shot a hex towards Avery who still had his own wand pointed at Sirius. "Titillando!" And the hex hit Avery straight between his eyes. Avery started laughing uncontrollably. He lowered his wand and couldn't stop laughing. His friends were looking at him in surprise. "What in Merlin's beard …" Aubrey said. "You will pay for that! Petrificus Totalus!" Sirius blocked that jinx. "You'll have to do better than that!" He taunted his opponent. The Slytherin blokes were now done with acting nice. Everyone but Avery, who was now crying of laughter and clutching his stomach in pain, yelled spells. Shots of red, yellow and blue darted James his way. "Protego!" Remus yelled. James' hair in his neck raised when he felt the power of that spell raise. "That will only block these ones!" Remus yelled. He kicked the box another time, but it was too heavy and too far away to move. "Hex them!" He told his friends.

James shot three quick spells towards Mulciber who was now darting to the right, hiding behind a statue. The first two missed just by a few centimeters, but the third one hit the statue. Pieces of stone exploded and some of it hit Mulciber in the face. Apparently he had a big cut above his eyebrow, because blood came gushing down and blurring his sight. "Damn it!" He yelled while holding his sleeve against the cut, trying not to regain his vision. Snape was slowly creeping forward trying to stay low and not catch any attention. James couldn't help to look at him and feel somehow a great disgust. Look at that slimy rat go. He wasn't a real man. A real man would stand up, fight and made sure that whatever he would do, he could also expect back. "Snivellus!" James yelled, pointing his wand at him. "Flipendo!" James casted. Severus was just about to either block the spell or avoid it, but Avery walked into him, trying to catch his breath while tears were streaming down his face. "Sev, help me. Hahahaha. I – I – I can't anymore. Hahahaha." He huffed while pressing his hands in his sides. Severus was blocked and too late with casting a shield charm. He was hit by the spell that James had send and he was knocked of his feet.

Even though the Slytherins had one person more, they were at this point no match for the four friends. They had the advantage of being higher. When they weren't able to block a spell they just jumped out of the way, in the air or ducked. And with Avery already out of the fight in the first few minutes made it an even fight. Sirius was fighting Rosier, Remus with Mulciber and Peter with Aubrey. James looked at the body of Snape who was now trying to get up, but was wrapped in his own robes. James pointed his wand at Severus and whispered: "Langclock." Severus was finally freed from his robes when he was hit with this spell. He was in shock, bringing his hand to his face. He opened his mouth, but wasn't able to say anything. He looked with a panicked look around. "What is it, Snivellus? Can't say a single word anymore. I stuck your tongue to the roof of your mouth. And we won't be learning non-verbal spells until the sixth year. Snape roared in anger. Pointing his wand at James, but nothing happened. He made some vague sounds, but nothing was even close to a spell.

Sirius at that point had casted ropes that caught Rosier around his legs and started to slowly intertwine around him, making their way up his body. Remus and Mulciber were dueling and things were heated. James was about to help his friend when Peter was hit with Petrificus Totalus, shot by Aubrey. His body tensed up, his arms stuck to his side and he fell down, only able to move his eyes around. James raised his wand, about to strike back and saw that Sirius did the same thing. But at point somebody yelled: "Protego!" And what James felt at that moment was so much pressure, so much power. This charm was way stronger than the one Remus had cast. The pressure made him take a few steps back, trying to push him to the ground, by James resisted with great difficulty. Sirius staggered a bit further, but also remained standing and Remus was blown to the ground with a bang.

James looked at the direction the spell came from and saw professor Flitwick standing there. He was small, but he gave off so much power. He looked at the victims of this duel. He flicked his want and Avery stopped laughing. He flicked his want again and the ropes disappeared from Rosier. He looked at Peter and shot something at him that made him move his limbs again. Snape walked up to him and pointed at his mouth, opening it and showing his tongue to Flitwick. Flitwick flicked his wand again and his tongue let loose. "Thank you, professor!" Snape said while breathing heavily and rubbing his chin.

He looked again at the students. Flitwick didn't say a word yet. He conjured something mystical and silvery with his wand, sending something off. Within a minute he was joined by Professor Slughorn and Professor McGonagall. "Filius, what is going on? Why did I need to leave in the middle of my lesson?" Slughorn asked, while adjusting his robes. "Because of them!" Flitwick pointed at the boys. "They were dueling each other in the corridors, skipping class and hexing each other." James tried to read McGonagall her face. She looked emotionless. "You four, my office. Bring that box with you." She strived off and they reluctantly followed her. James had this point no idea what he could do anymore. What would she think when she found three cauldrons, some vials and quills in their box. It was sure that she wouldn't know what they were up to exactly, but she knew that something was going on. Peter was walking besides James and whimpered. "Are you in pain?" James asked his friend in a whisper. Peter nodded. "I swallowed the leaf." James eyes grew. "We'll talk later about that." Looking at McGonagall's back. What if she would hear them. That leave in their mouth could be the puzzle piece that was missing to know exactly what they were up to. There was no other way than to just swallow it as well. James removed the leaf with his tongue from the corner of his cheek and swallowed it. It felt scratchy, soft and weird in his throat.

Soon they arrived at McGonagall's office. James opened the door and let Peter and Sirius pass him. While following his friend he whispered: "Swallow the leaf." And he prayed his friend heard him. Remus was focusing on levitating the box into her office. He put it down next to the fireplace. McGonagall conjured some more chairs. "Sit." She ordered while looking at them. The four of them sat down. "What in Merlin's beard were you thinking?" She said slowly in a monotone tone. "Dueling fellow students in the corridors of the castle, skipping class and hexing people." She inhaled deeply. Her nostrils flared. "You boys, you four, you are just unbelievable. I cannot remember in the history of Hogwarts that somebody got in so much trouble already in only their first year and half. I am appalled by your behavior today." She shifted in her seat, leaning closer over her desk. "I gave the four of you the benefit of the doubt at lunch with your big, heavy box. God knows what is in there. And within 20 minutes you are dueling some Slytherin boys. Let me guess. I was all about the box?" the four of them were silent, not knowing what to say. "Mr. Pettigrew, answer me!" She demanded with a strong voice.

Peter whimpered and tried to make himself even smaller in the chair. "Why did you get into this fight?" Peter said something that nobody could hear. "Mr. Pettigrew I will only ask this once more. Speak up now please. Why did you get into a fight?" Peter scraped his throat. "We – we – uhm, they." He shifted uncomfortably from side to side, still looking at his lap. "They followed up apparently and demanded to see the box. And we passed and then they tried to hex us and we defended ourselves." McGonagall was not speaking. Her index finger was ticking slowly on the desk. "Is it a secret what there is in the box?" Peter shook his head. She picked up her wand, point it at the box and said clearly: "Revelio." The box opened up and the stuff came out. Her eyes shot to James. "Party stuff, Mr. Potter? Since when do you need a cauldron?" James took a deep breath. "It is true, professor. Those vials and quills are a present for Lily Evans and those cauldrons are for her friends. We overheard them the other day that they needed new ones after some of the potions we made were messed up." James saw how Remus and Sirius were looking at him. Luckily their facial expressions were blank and they didn't reveal any emotions.

"I see. Well Mr. Potter, I will be honest. That makes me the only person here in this room that is honest at this moment. I don't believe you. You boys are up to something. There are lot of potions that vials are a part of and I cannot really place the quills in this particular part, but whatever. I don't believe you and I will keep an eye on all four of you for the rest of the year. Whatever you four were planning on doing I highly suggest you stop it. And if you already started, make sure I don't find it and clean it up. Somehow with an delivery this big it is usually not something small. Neither of you would want to risk their place here at Hogwarts, right? Expulsion is one thing, but in the past students have been kicked out of Hogwarts. Of course we are talking about serious breaking of the rules and situations that were very dangerous, but I want you all to know that there is no endless punishment of just detention. You are now second years, still at least five years to go at Hogwarts. You will learn a lot more and become more confident with your abilities and skills. So if this is just the beginning, what you are all capable of while you are in your second year, I don't want to know what can happen in your fifth or seventh." She stopped talking and looked at the four friends. "Let this sink in. For what happened during lunch, I do not care what who started and who did what to whom. I deduct 20 points from Gryffindor, 20 points per person."

All four heads shot up in astonishment. "That is 80 in total!" Sirius said. "That is …" But he couldn't' finish is sentence. McGonagall put up her hand. "That is a fair amount of what you boys did. Dueling, missing class, hexing other students. Be happy it isn't 25 points each. You just lost your House _only_ 80 points and you bought yourself four weekends of detention starting this weekend. Both days. I will let you know during this week who will go where for their detention. For now, go to your next class. You already missed this hour." The four them hastily stood up. "Mr. Lupin!" McGonagall called. Remus turned around and looked at his professor full of shame. "Don't forget your delivery." Remus nodded and levitated the box.


	26. Chapter 26 Second year adventures

"There were still 15 minutes left before their next class started. Quickly they made their way to the Gryffindor tower, just as they did before they were interrupted by those Slytherins. "Those gits." Sirius hissed. "They were looking for us, for trouble. There is no reason why they would be on that staircase. First of all it was breakfast time and there are no classes in that area." Sirius flopped down on his bed and grunted in frustration. Remus made sure that the box was not in the way and safely stowed away under his bed. "Of course they had it out of for us. It would be a surprise if they didn't. Remus said. "I feel horrible about all those points. Do you know how long it will take to gain those points back." Sirius waved this away. "Points are points. James can just score some extra goals during Quidditch or you just answer some questions in class." Remus looked at his friend in disbelieve. He thought about maybe saying something, but when he looked James in the eye he saw a small shaking of the head. So instead he rolled his eyes why packing his back. "Let's go, we have potions next. I wonder if Slughorn will say something to us." James nodded. "Indeed. And what kind of punishment they got as well. Slughorn would never extract so many points from his one House."

While walking down to the dungeons Peter was more quiet than usual. "Guys, I swallowed my leaf." He said sad. James nodded. "Yeah, well maybe that was a good thing. After you told me that I swallowed mine as well and I told Sirius to do the same thing." Sirius made a sound like he finally understood something. "Well, I heard you and listened. Swallowed mine. Took me a few times before he completely left my throat, but in the end I did it." James nodded. "Yeah, I was thinking that if she would indeed open our box, with just that she would not have a clue what our plans are. But maybe if she started grilling us and she would notice a leaf in our mouth, she would definitely put one and one together. She is very smart and has been through this process herself. But now it was just some school supplies. Thank Merlin as well that the quills were in there. They kind of threw her off." Everybody nodded and they were silent for a while.

"But now what?" Peter asked. "We need to be smart." Remus said in everyone's surprise. "We will continue with this plan, but not for a while. First of all we need to sit through all the detentions and then just lay low a bit. We cannot do anything in the upcoming weeks about the whole process." Sirius looked in surprise at his friend. "Would you look at that. See who completely turned around." Remus shrugged. "I surrendered I guess. You three will do it anyway, weather I agree with it or not. So I thought that if I just agreed and help you guys it will get done quicker, with more manpower and probably also better and safer. So instead of working against you, I decided to work with you. Make sure that the risks will be as low as possible."

They arrived in the dungeons and Slughorn was already in the room. They quickly walked in and occupied some tables in the back. In the class were already all the Slytherins. They looked loathsome at them. And the four of them happily returned equal facial expressions. Soon professor Slughorn came into the classroom with a hurry. His head was quite red and there were little drops of sweat on his forehead. "Hello everyone." He huffed while sitting down at his desk. "My apologies for my tardiness. I was a bit held up with something. But I won't be wasting anymore of our precious time. Take out your textbooks everyone."

James and his friends were playing it all on the down low. Being unusually quiet for them, they just sat down. Listened to Slughorn explaining a potion they would be making in the upcoming classes. James tried to take notes. He knew that after probably during the potion or after they did it, they had to write an essay about it. James tried to pay attention. Slughorn always talked a lot and 80% of his information was just from the textbook. But it was all about the last 20%. The extra information he gave you. If you could show him you paid attention the class by referring to it in your essay you would have a decent grade for sure. But somehow it was hard to pay attention to Slughorn. James was thinking about everything what happened and that was now the new plan. He knew it was for the best to just lay low for a while. Especially for the duration of their detention. McGonagall will be tracking their steps for sure the upcoming weeks. But somehow James can't shake the small pit in his stomach. He was really looking forward to this process. He knows that it will take a lot time, patience and luck before they will even be close to becoming Animagi, but he knew that when they at least would start the process, they would be working on that goal. It made him a bit restless. Have patience, James, he told himself. You will get there.

Finally the class ended. Most of the students sighed in relieve. "I am so hungry!" Peter said. He was stuffing his book, quill and parchment in his bag. "Ahum!" Slughorn cleaned his throat. "May I have your attention for a few more seconds, please." He looked around, waiting for everyone to look at him. "I want the following students to stay here just for a minute or so now. Mr. Lupin, Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, Mr. Snape and Mrs. Evans." Remus, Sirius and James were looking at each other, then to Slughorn and then back to each other. All of them shrugged. "I'll wait outside." Peter said warily. He walked out the room.

"So you might have wondered why I gathered you. Well, it is because of another get together I am throwing in the beginning of February. I am inviting a lot of students this time, more than I usually would. But this little party will be also different than usual. So, I will give students from two houses in each year different tasks. Gryffindor and Slytherin will work together, just like Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. The task that you will need to work on are appetizers for during the party. So small bits of food that the house-elves can carry around on trays." Sirius raised his eyebrows. "With all due respect professor, but why do you want us to make it if we also have house-elves who can do that? And probably better and faster than we." Slughorn nodded. "Fair question, Mr. Black. I want to answer your question honestly, but I don't want to speak ill about my colleagues. Let's say that I am asked not use them anymore for personal matters that often. I have to limit my requests. Furthermore I think it is a great way of making sure that houses are working together instead of fighting. And I must say that everyone here, except for Mrs. Evans of course, have yourself to thank for. I thought of it this morning after your little rivalry." Slughorn stopped talking and turned his head to Lily. "Mrs. Evans, you know it is no secret that I am very fond of your abilities. Not only in the classroom, but also your leadership abilities. So I don't want you to make the referee, but I have the feeling you somehow have to be while working with them." James looked at Lily. She seemed to look proud with this task, but also a bit taken aback. Well, James couldn't blame her. Being a referee between the three of them and Snivellus is quite a task. But somehow he didn't doubt that Lily could do it. She nodded in understand while soaking in the words from Slughorn. "No problem professor. I will make sure they won't fight and we will get it done." Slughorn smiled. "Of course you will my dear. And give me till the beginning of next week for your supplies, recipes and schedule." Everyone nodded. "Okay, off you go then. Enjoy lunch!"

James, Sirius and Remus quickly left the room and were joined by Peter outside in the hallway. "Let's walk before we fill you in. I don't want to look at Snivellus any longer than needed." Sirius said while speeding up. They almost ran up the stairs to the Great Hall. Quickly they sat down at the table and started eating. While filling their plates they started telling exactly what Slughorn told them to Peter. One for one they covered a different part of the story. "So that is it." Remus said. "We will get our supplies, recipes and schedule somewhere next week." Sirius grunted. "Ugh! Isn't it enough already that we have detention? McGonagall already punished us. And now we have to get punished by Slughorn as well? Working together for a month with Snivellus? Merlin help me." James laughed. "I know right. Well, he is alone and we have us three." Sirius nodded. "Nope, that is were you are wrong mate. He has Evans as well. She is definitely on his side. They go way back. Like childhood back." James looked around to see if he could see Lily anywhere. She was no where to be seen. "Well, we'll see what will happen. Maybe we can divide stuff and tasks and make sure we would see him as little as possible." "Yeah, let us pray for that." Sirius said hopefully.

XXX

The rest of January flew by quite quickly. The detentions were boring, but at least they weren't being separated. The four of them had to work with Pringle in restoring a lot of old paintings. Of course non-magical cleaning and scrubbing. By the time they were done with their detention they had cleaned, retouched and restored all the paintings on the first two floors. Pringle was always breathing down their neck, yelling that they would get more detention if they messed this up. James and Sirius knew that he didn't had the authority to give someone detention so they slipped some Stink Pellets in his office while he saw scolding at Remus and Peter. He didn't have the proof that James and Sirius had done it, but he said he just knew. Sure, Pringle was completely right, but James and Sirius kept denying.

At one point he threw his hands up in frustration and demanded to smell their hands. Luckily they didn't smell like any of those Stink Pellets, so they were in the clear. Pringle then left them to roam the corridors for nearby students. "Someone did it!" He said again and again. "He won't be back for another hour at least and we are supposed to be done with 30. Come on, let's bounce." James said while throwing his cloth down. The three friends quickly threw down their stuff too and they left. The quickly walked back to the tower and sat down in some chairs near the fireplace. "Only tomorrow left and then we'll be done." Remus sighed while massaging his hands. "I hate how my skin feels after this." James saw someone approaching them from the corner of his eyes. It was Lily. "Hey." She said while putting her hands on her hips. "I just wanted to let you know that Severus and I decided to divide the tasks. I got everything from Slughorn that we needed. I will just give you now half of the recipes and the ingredients. You will have this week to make the food, next Friday is the party." She opened her bag and reached in. Lily pulled out four papers with writing on it, those had to be the recipes. And then a lot of ingredients. "How did all of that fit in your bag?" Peter asked impressed. "An undetectable extension charm." She said while putting the last of the ingredients in Sirius his lap. "Would you mind putting all of this on the table, Evans?" Sirius said annoyed. Lily rolled her eyes but wisley decided not to answer.

She started to close her back and made her way away from them. James stopped her by putting his hand on her arm. "Hey." He said softly. "Don't mind Sirius. He is just annoyed with the detention." Lily looked at him. "Okay then. Will that be all, James? I have to go and meet Alice in the library." James didn't really know why he made her stop. She clearly didn't feel the need to talk to him. "Well yeah, I guess. But I wanted to know as well why you decided to divide it between us?" Lily looked at James in disbelief. "You are seriously asking me that? You really don't know why I thought that was the best idea?" James felt a bit embarrassed. "Well, if you were afraid we would get into a fight, you were wrong. Okay?" Somehow James felt the need to defend himself. He hated feeling embarrassed and stupid for asking certain questions.

"Don't you mean _another_ fight?" Lily said with squinted eyes. "How do you think that I feel about all of this? The four of you get into this stupid fight with the Slytherins. Fighting over a box for crying out loud. And somehow I get caught up in the middle of this. What did I do to you guys to end up as a referee?" James was astonished. He could not believe what Lily was saying. Was she blaming him and his friends for this? For the decision that Slughorn made? "Excuse me? We never asked you to be a part of this and you know that. It is not like we asked Slughorn to drag you into all of htis!" Lily took a step back. "Don't you get it, Potter? It is not about whether you would ask it or not. Have you never heard of something called consequences?" James had the feeling she got really, really pissed now. She almost never used his last name. "We are in this together. And with we, I mean all of us! Everyone from our year of Gryffindor. Whatever you four decide to do reflects on all of us. All the teacher know that you won't change, that you lot will keep doing all these pranks and stupid fights. They gave up on the four of you during our first year, I would say. So they feel the need to turn to the rest of us to keep you in check. I am not your babysitter. So maybe if you could just behave for once!" Sirius stood up. "As if we would want you to be our babysitter. Why is this the first time we hear you nagging about this? You already know we have to do this for almost a month."

Lily turned around and shot him an angry look. "Because I blamed Slughorn more than you lot. It was just the wrong teacher at the wrong time I said to myself. Do you think McGonagall would have made us prepare food for a party? Put one Slytherin in a group with five Gryffindors? Especially if that single student had just been in a fight with the other ones? Well, she wouldn't, but Slughorn most certainly would and he did! He puts one unbiased person as a referee. I was just unlucky enough that I am one of his favorites and I am now that referee.

But what baffles me now is that you guys don't even seem to understand that I want nothing to do with all of you and your stupid, childish pranks. And somehow I still got dragged into all of this. That is why I am so upset right now, but I wouldn't expect a single of you lot to even care or understand this." She glared at every single of them in anger before walking away. She climbed into the whole, pushed the painting aside and vanished from everyone's sight.

"Jeez, Merlin. Who got her knickers so twisted?" Sirius sat back down in his chair. Remus shrugged. "I kind of understand her." Sirius looked at him. "Is that why you didn't say anything? Because you disagree with us and agree with her?" Remus looked at Sirius. "No. I didn't see the reason to say anything at all. And well, I do disagree. We do drag our fellow students down with us. We only get points taken from our house, we barely earn them." James protested. "That is not entirely true. I earn points with winning Quidditch matches." Remus laughed. "Mate, that is a team sport. You win a game with your whole team. You cannot take credit for that on your own. And you have to admit you lose more than you earn." James didn't had a response to that, because deep down he knew that was true. Remus at least gave right answers in the class earning them points. "Who cares about those points?" Sirius waved it all away. "That is just a messed up way trying to make us feel superior to other houses and also to other students. They think that this idea of a competition will make us want to give the right answer for just 5 points. So, just maybe, that at the end of the school year, we might see banners in our House colors. This whole thing is a scam for trying to make us do our homework, keep us in check and make sure we obey the rules. But there is so much more in life than just giving the right answer to the teacher to earn your house a miserable amount of maybe 10 points." Sirius rested his case and nobody felt like arguing with him. Not after the speech that Lily just gave them.

James got up and mumbled something under his breath that he went to bed. He walked up the stairs, changed into his PJ's and lay down. This argument with Lily Evans was on replay in his head and every time it had a different ending. It kept playing in his head until he finally fell asleep.

The following day they ended their last and final detention quite fast, happy to be done with it. Pringle let them leave after inspecting each painting at least five times. Quickly they ran to the Great Hall hoping to still catch dinner. They quickly sat down and put some food on their plates. While grabbing some chicken James asked. "So what are we going to do with those recipes from Slughorn?" Peter helped himself to some pumpkin juice. "That is all you guys, I am off the hook." Sirius groaned. "Yeah, that is such bull. You participated in our duel with those gits as well." Peter shrugged. "You know that Slughorn doesn't like me. He barely pays any attention to me during class. Which for once is quite nice now. It is almost as he doesn't notice me, but that goes for more people. You either have to know famous people or you have to have this great talent." Remus nodded. "Yeah, that is so weird. He just lets you be when you are not valuable to him." Sirius snorted hard. "Well, I kind of suck at Potions. So why me? I don't know any famous people. Not as far as I know." Remus snickered. "You are a Black, mate. That name gives you opportunities almost everywhere." Sirius thought about that for a second. "Okay, that might be true. But why is this the first time he invited me for one of his parties? It isn't like I just became a Black last week you know." Remus shrugged. "That is kind of strange. But Slughorn is very calculated in this sort of stuff. He must have his reasons." The rest of the dinner they kept discussing potential guests and students going to Slughorn's party.


	27. Chapter 27 Second year adventures

"I am exhausted!" James flopped down on his bed. It was 2 in the morning and they just came back from Slughorn's party. He felt the comfort of his bed surrounding him and he closed his eyes. "I don't think I can move anymore." He heard his friends walk around in the room. Peter was humming along with some music that he heard at the party. "Why are you so cheery?" Sirius asked Peter. James couldn't bother opening his eyes, so he just kept them closed while he listened to their conversation. "I enjoyed myself. I didn't think I would, since I was so nervous." Sirius must have looked at him with a confused look. "You know I didn't get an invitation and that Slughorn doesn't like me. So why would he be happy that I showed up along with you guys?" Sirius shrugged his shoulders. "I wonder if he even noticed you, to be honest. And even if he did, he was probably just happy to have another waiter to give his guests food." Peter nodded along, agreeing with his friend. "Yeah true. Plus he was so buzzed at one point, that I guess if he would even had noticed if someone would have crashed his party." Sirius chuckled. "That is something that I will never forget. A slightly drunk Slughorn, stumbling around the room." Sirius closed his eyes satisfied, remembering that specific picture.

James knew his friends kept talking about that night, but he slowly drifted away. The warmth and comfort of his sheets made it impossible to stay awake since he was so very, very tired. The last few nights he didn't sleep that well, unfortunately. He kept waking up because of his dreams, but he could never remember them. James just hoped that there would be one night soon that he would have a dreamless sleep. Quidditch practice was starting soon and feeling exhausted, unable to concentrate wouldn't really improve his skills.

He felt someone tugging at his arm, slowly waking him up. Was this one of these weird dreams again? James groaned. "Go away!" He said while try to turn around, getting away from that grip. "No, wake up James. Come on." James slowly opened his eyes. He looked to the side of his bed and saw Remus standing there. James felt so irritated. "Why did you wake me? I was sleeping." Remus looked down on him. "Because you fell asleep on your bed with your clothes still on. If I didn't wake you up right now, you would probably wake up in a few hours, cold and feeling worse. Just get up, change into your pajama's and lie under the covers." James rolled his eyes, but knew deep down that Remus was right. "Fine." He got up and changed. "I will shower and brush my teeth in the morning." Remus, who just returned to his own bed, chuckled. "As long as you don't talk to me before you brush your teeth mate. You didn't go easy on those Dragon Tarts tonight. It was just as disgusting you watch you devour them as to eat them." James crept under the covers while smiling broadly and playfully said: "What? Don't attack me for liking Dragon Tarts. Did you even try them at least?" Remus snorted. "As a matter of fact I did once. Just taste just as disgusting as they look. Plus, how could someone even eat them normally? They are just a little to big to fit at all of it in your mouth, but if you bite it everything falls off and it all crumbles in your hand. Impossible!" James heard Sirius and Peter chuckling. He knew that his friends were feeling partly disgusted and partly impressed when they found out he liked Dragon Tarts.

"You like those things?" Sirius said in their first year after an evening of getting to know each other better. Sirius just told them the most disgusting thing he had ever eaten, which was Maggoty Haggis. James just confessed that he secretly enjoyed eating Dragon Tarts once in a while and his three friends looked at him with disgust. "Hey, don't judge. You just said you ate maggots, mate." Sirius put up his hands in defense. "That was for a dare! Somebody gave me 50 Galleons to do it. 50 Galleons, mate! I would even eat ear-wax from a troll for that." James stomach turned upside down even thinking about the substance that would come out of the ear of a troll. "You disgust me, Black. You would sell out for money?" Sirius laughed at that statement. "For money? You honestly think I do that shit for money? Nah! I just do it for the hell of it, the thrill. Shocking people is awesome. I didn't even tell you the best part about eating that. He vomited! Regulus vomited when I swallowed it! I would have done it for free, just for fun. But now I made 50 Galleons with it." Remus was frowning so hard at his friends right now, Peter looked slightly nauseous and James looked at his friend in awe.

Sirius didn't care about what other people thought of him and James was impressed by that. Sirius wasn't impressed by anyone else either, not even by the teachers at Hogwarts. He wasn't paying attention in class, did the bare minimum for his homework and still he received good grades. Sirius was smart. Not only in class, but also outside. He loved defying the rules. Nobody could tell him what to do. If somebody did, the chance was even bigger that Sirius would just do it for showing them they couldn't tell him a single thing. He was a little more compliant with teachers sometimes, but only because he knew he would probably need them one day with regards to his grades. But other than that he will just do his own thing at his own terms. James liked that about his friend and was learning great things from him. Sometimes he had the feeling that the expectations that society had from you were unable to live upon. Required to go to school and find an enjoyable job in the Wizarding community one day. But the one thing that was the most unbearable sometimes is being unable to do magic outside of Hogwarts before you're seventeen. Especially when he finally got his wand. So in order to ease the pain, or at least that is the excuse that James told himself, he just defied the rules once in a while. Roaming the castle in the dark, finding out about the shortcuts and the secret passages behind statues and paintings were the highlights of these trips.

Remus is not like that all. Sometimes James felt a bit of guilt that whenever Remus joined them on their nightly escapades. He knew Remus wouldn't really do something he didn't want to. But sometimes James had the feeling Remus just joined them to make especially James and Sirius stop nagging. Remus loved rules and structure. And the lack of respect for authority that Sirius had, Remus definitely made up for. Whatever a teacher would tell them to do, Remus would do it without questions asked. Of course there would be a limit of his willingness at point, but James is convinced that Remus would go quite far without asking questions or disobeying if somebody with a higher rank asked that of him. But this never scared James truly that much. Because he knows his friend and Remus would never, ever hurt anybody if somebody with more power asked that of him. And that is exactly the point where he wasn't so sure about with Peter.

Peter is a great guy and a loyal friend, but James knew that his first instinct is going with the strongest ones of the group. Sometimes James was thinking about what would have happened if all of them would have been sorted into a different house. Remus would also fit perfectly in Ravenclaw with his grades and brains. Sirius would have fitted into Hufflepuff as well, just as James, based on their loyalty towards their friends. But sometimes James wasn't so sure of Peter. His instinct is protecting himself by seeking cover behind or with a larger, stronger group. If Peter was sorted into Slytherin and not into Gryffindor, he would definitely hang out with those gits like Snivellus, Avery and Rosier. But the thing about Peter was that once he found that kind of safety, his loyalty would never waiver. James was sure of that. Peter was just insecure about his own abilities and needed to surround him with people that could and would save him. And the only way those people would save him, is when they would be friends. James felt convinced in the fact that all of his three best friends were loyal and supportive. They would always stick up for each other and have each others back. Why else would they all end up in Gryffindor? House of the braves, courageous and determination. The best house in Hogwarts if you would ask James. Traitors and self-centered people ended up in Slytherin.

XXX

The upcoming months kind of flew by James. Quidditch practice was even harder than it already was. Their upcoming and final match is against Ravenclaw and Alistair came down on the team harder than he had ever done in this year. "Come one, Potter!" He yelled at James at point during their most recent practice. "You know you can do this maneuver in your sleep. Where is your head at? Do it again!" James groaned, but he steered his broom back around. He knew Alistair was right. James was able to do this maneuver. So why couldn't he pull it off right now? "How big is the stick up his butt, right?" Minnie said while she appeared right next to James. "I get it that he wants to win, it is his last year. But still.." James laughed. "I get it to be honest. My head is all over the place at the moment. I need to get my shit together." He smiled at Minnie and took off, giving this maneuver another shot.

The rest of the practice went very well. James was able to gather his thoughts and keep his head in the game. He was happy with the result, just like the rest of the team. Even Alistair climbed off his broom with a small smile playing around his lips. "Okay, this was a good one. We have two practices left before the game, which will be next Saturday. We can do this, okay? If we win, we win the Quidditch cup! I know Hufflepuff still has a game against Slytherin after that, but that won't matter anymore. We will be too far ahead of Slytherin to come for us then." Alistair's voice got louder and he was now radiating with power and leadership. "I know you guys will me make proud. Don't let the fact that this is my last chance to win the cup at all distract you or put pressure on your shoulders. Just practice like tonight until game, give it your 110 during the game and I know for a fact that we will win!" Everybody on the team was now roaring and stamping. "Gryffindor! Gryffindor! Gryffindor!" Alistair was a great team captain. He knew the game and the tactics. But even better than that was the fact that he knew how to train a team, he knew enough to make sure they won the last two games.

James quickly changed into his regular clothes in the changing room. He had to return quickly to the common room, since he was going on another nightly adventure with Sirius. Sirius would be waiting for him with the cloak ready. This time they were trying to get outside and to see if they could find something amazing at the grounds. The plan was that James would return as quick as possible, before anyone from his team. He knew that Alistair was usually the last one to leave the changing room, due to the fact that he double checked every single thing. That meant that Pringle would be waiting for Alistair to tell them that he is the last one back before he would lock the doors. James and Sirius couldn't risk opening the doors themselves or finding another exit that would lead them to the grounds. So they had to use this opportunity to quickly leave the castle before Alistair came back.

"Why in such a rush, Potter?" Minnie said while James was putting on his last shoe. "Is your boyfriend waiting for your goodnight kiss?" She teased. James ignored her, but couldn't help to smile. He knew that there were rumours in the other houses that James and Sirius were an item. James also knew that the source of the gossip were the Slytherins. The first time it had reached the four friends they were working together on a plant during Herbology. The four of them were stunned when a Hufflepuff asked how long Sirius and James were already together, since she thought it was so romantic how Sirius kept swapping roots that were trying to strangle around James his arms. First they didn't fully comprehend the question. But after a few questions it became clear that people were really thinking that James and Sirius were in a relationship together. Sirius was so shocked that he forgot to keep the roots away and James arm was being pulled back, making sure that he couldn't touch the core. Peter and Remus quickly overcame their shock and couldn't stop laughing. They laughed so hard that they distracted everybody and after five times of asking, Mrs. Sprout had no other choice than to deduct 10 points from Gryffindor and give them detention for one evening.

"But every now and then James and Sirius just played along with the rumours and even fuel them. Especially when the Slytherins were around. They knew that the Slytherins had started those rumours in the hope of rattling and irritating James and Sirius. But they weren't bothered at all. They both knew they liked girls, but just to mess with the Slytherins they would stare in each others eyes a few second longer than needed. And every single face they saw made it absolutely worth it. It was clear to Minnie now that James wasn't bothered at all. "You know that I don't have a problem with that, right?" James looked up while he grabbed his broom. "I know! And neither do I!" He added with a cheeky grin. He swung his broom over his shoulder, left the changing room and walked in a fast pace towards 'his boyfriend'.


	28. Chapter 28 Second year adventures

It was March and there was excitement in the Gryffindor house. They had won the Quidditch cup with their last game. And to celebrate their victory they got the approval of McGonagall to display the cup in their common room. Alistair was over the moon when the snitch was caught. He wasn't an emotional person normally but this time he couldn't push his tears back. His victory speech after the game was filled with gratitude. But Alistair became very possessive of the cup once he held it. And now that is was on display in the common room he was guarding it with his life. Everybody who came close to it with something like ink, food or drinks would be yelled at by Alistair.

Sirius had made it his game to rile Alistair up as much as possible. He would try to get as close to the cup as possible with stuff like quills dripping with ink and his cloak covered with mud. At one particular try with an egg roll and some hot sauce Alistair went totally mental. "Are you literally that stupid, Black? Or are you just messing with me right now! This is the fifth time already that you tried to come close to the cup with food! Let alone those other times when you were so dirty that even by looking at it you would already soil the cup. I swear to Merlin and Dumbledore, Black. If you don't get out of my sight right now I will hex you!" Sirius pretended to play afraid and to back off. When he returned to James, Remus and Peter he couldn't help but snicker. Remus rolled his eyes when Sirius sat down. "Aren't you tired already with this stupid game?" Remus said annoyed, watching Sirius sit down. Sirius sighed loudly in response. "I think you know the answer to that, mate." James saw this fight coming from a mile away and he was tired of it. The exams were still two months away and every single Gryffindor knew that if somebody was going to pass it, it would be Remus.

Sirius and Remus were now bickering with each other. Sirius was arguing that Remus needed to relax more and not put so much pressure on himself. Remus fired back that Sirius could care more about school and not leave everything to the last minute. "I am not going to help you this time. Just so you know." Remus added. "Oh no. You aren't going to help me this time? Is that true, Remus?" Sirius said sarcastically. "Well, how will I ever pass those exams without your help? How, oh how?" Remus abruptly stood up, grabbed his book and marched to the stairs. "Mate…" James said knowingly at Sirius. "What? Are you also going to start with me now, James?" Sirius barked at him. Wow! James raised his hands defensive. "No mate. But just give him some slack. He is stressed with school. You know how serious he is." Sirius shrugged, but James knew that he had hit a nerve. Sirius didn't like arguing at all and always felt guilty afterwards. Especially when it was with one of his best mates. "You are right. But the exams aren't until May. Why stress now already? Before you know it he will need to go to the Hospital Wing for a calming potion."

James heard Peter chuckle while he was watching James and Sirius discuss this. "What are you laughing about?" Peter put his hand behind his head while he lay back on the couch. "I am laughing at the both of you." He grinned at Sirius and James while looking very smug. "And may we ask why?" James asked. "Because you are so oblivious. Remus is using the exams as an excuse for his real concern." Peter's face now fell a bit, the smug was gone and replaced with a mixture of pity and pain. Sirius was thinking deeply but James knew instantly. "It is almost time again. For his …" James quickly looked around them, lowered his voice and whispered: "His transformation." Sirius eyes grew big and there was a look of guilt in them. "Shit!" He said. He was rubbing his neck now with a pained expression. "I totally forgot about that. I feel so terrible." Peter moved himself to the edge of the couch. "I think you guys also forget what day it is when the full moon is visible." Now it was Sirius who was quicker than James. "Oh shit. It his birthday. The tenth is his birthday." Sirius stood up. "I need to make this up to him. I was a jerk for no reason. I know we cannot support him during his thing, but we have to do something." James nodded along. "You are right. First of all, we need chocolate for the day after. And a lot of it." Peter suggested to go to Hogsmeade. "We can use the passage that will bring us right to Honeydukes. We will leave some money for them." Sirius was pacing around while nodding to everything he heard. "Yes, yes. This is good. But we need more. What else can we do so we can take away some of the stress?" James was thinking back to the fight Remus just had with Sirius. "We can pay attention in class and do our homework." James said, enlightened. "And we would help Remus with that?" Peter looked confused. James nodded. "Yeah! You know that even though we don't ask for it, he always helps us. Nagging us about our homework, sharing his notes with us and checking our essays and stuff. If we make sure that we do it and do it well we'll let Remus of the hook." Peter nodded. He understood it and was definitely agreeing with it. "That will probably put his mind at ease."

They knew better then to return to their dorm right now. Remus needed space right now and it is better no to disturb him right now. So James, Sirius and Peter spend the rest of the night discussing how to help Remus and they came up with some pretty good options. Around 1 in the morning they decided it was enough already and headed up stairs to get some well-deserved sleep.

On the tenth of March Remus was feeling particular sick after his transformation from the night before. Luckily it was a Saturday and most of the students were visiting Hogsmeade. Dumbledore and McGonagall decided that it was okay for this time for Remus to be in the common room, as long as he stayed in his dorm. It was around 9 in the morning and Peter just got back from the Great Hall with a plate of food for Remus. "Here you go, mate. Your favorite." He gave Remus the plate, who responded with a smile. "Wow, you must be famished." Sirius said when he saw how his friend was devouring his breakfast. A small piece of toast fell on his Remus his cover, but he couldn't care less. After he was finished his toast and eggs, he inhaled deeply. "That was so good! I was so hungry!" Sirius smirked at James, rolled his eyes jokingly and shook his head lightly. James snorted a bit, but was able not to laugh out loud. Now was not the time for jokes.

"So, happy birthday!" James said. Remus looked up and gave James a watery smile. "Ha, thanks! Yes, that is indeed today. Doesn't feel like my birthday to be honest." He looked down to his lap. "Well, you might not feel like you just turned thirteen, but you surely did. So we got something for you." Sirius stood up and walked over to the dresser. Remus still didn't look up, but picked up the piece of toast that had fell on his cover earlier. "I am not going anywhere. Just so you know." Sirius chuckled at this remark of his friend. "We know, mate. Even we wouldn't put you through something like that after a night like this. No, we just know what you need." He opened a drawer and grabbed a big box.

Remus frowned a bit when he looked at this display. "Okay, fine. You got me curious." Sirius walked over the bed and gave the box to Remus. He opened it and his whole face lit up. "It is filled with chocolate!" He smiled broadly and stuck his hands in the box. "And all kinds of chocolates! Oh my God, this is amazing!" Peter, Sirius and James looked at each other smiling. "Good to see you are happy, it was quite an adventure to get all of this." Remus looked up to Sirius. "It was?" Peter rolled his eyes in response to Sirius. "No it wasn't. He is just messing with you. Do you remember that night when we found that secret tunnel behind the statue of the ugly witch?" Remus nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think so. You mean the witch with the one eye?" Peter nodded. "Yes, that one! So James and Sirius figured out where it ends. And you'll never believe it! It leads to the basement of Honeydukes. So last night we grabbed our bags, got under the cloak and got you your stash of chocolate." Remus, who was halfway through opening a chocolate bar, dropped everything. "You stole it? You just went to their basement and got it out of their stock?" Peter clearly didn't expect this reaction. He started to stumble over his words. "No, no… w-w-we didn't steal it of course." Remus raised one eyebrow. "Mate, we left money." Sirius said impatient. "Don't worry about it!" Remus gave a short, hollow laugh.

"Oh, you left money? So what? You took from their stock, without them knowing about it. They still think they have a certain amount in the back and they don't. Now they will just find a random amount of money left on one of their boxes somewhere." Remus was getting more and more worked up every second by this. "And now what? They realize some of their products are gone and find random money somewhere. What if they find out about the secret passage?" While Remus was ranting about his frustrations, Sirius had taken a seat and just heard his friend out. "Are you done now? You worry way too much. Let it go! Do you honestly think we are that daft? James here found their safe and their lock was easy to pick. So we stuffed the money in there, we took the chocolate and we made sure nobody will find that passage. When they notice that they are short on some products they will count the money and see that they aren't short on any. They probably will just blame each other with not writing everything down correctly." Remus was still not looking completely relaxed, but apparently decided to let it go for now. James had the feeling that the box full of chocolate and his clear craving for it played a big part in this. The rest of the day they four of them just spend in their room. They talked, laughed, played games, shared stories. This was mainly the case to make Remus feel better, to get his mind of his painful transformations. James was happy to see when he returned with dinner for the four of them that their plan worked out. Remus' face didn't look so pale anymore, he laughed with Peter about something stupid that James and Sirius had done in the previous weeks and he looked less troubled. James locked eyes with Sirius who winked at him. They both know Remus was feeling much better now and that he needed this. This is what friends were for.

XXX

A few weeks later, and the end of March, it was time for yet another birthday. This one was the one and only James Potter himself. During breakfast his parents brought him several gifts by owl. James couldn't help but smile when he opened them all. At the fourth gift he saw something attached to it. "Hey! This is for the three of you as well." He showed them the gift and it was a lot of candy together with an invitation to spend the summer at the Potter mansion. "Cool! I will discuss it with my parents and I will let you know." Peter said. James nodded, but he wasn't quite there with his thoughts. His parents also included a letter.

 _Our beloved son_

 _Happy birthday with you thirteenth birthday. Merlin's beard, you do grow up so fast and we like what we see so far. Of course we knew from the beginning that you would go to Hogwarts and we wouldn't be able to be with you on every birthday, but that doesn't mean that we miss you less. We are delighted with the fact that you are surrounded by your friends everyday and that eases the pain a little bit. But do know, and always remember, that we miss you and think about you._

 _There is a something that I would like to let you know, but your father asked me not to. He says it has no use for you to worry while you are so far away, without being able to do anything. But I do believe you have the right to know, but I want you to know that you do not have to be worried. Your father has become ill and is currently treated at Sint Mungo's. Unfortunately he has caught the Dragon Pox. He got it because they were working on a new kind of hair gel that has Peruvian Vipertooths as an ingredient._

 _For now he is fine and nothing major is going on. We were quite quick with recognizing the symptoms so treatment started almost as soon as it had begun. But due to your fathers age the Healers at Sint Mungo's wanted to keep him there at least until the greenish tinge will disappear. And you do know how your father gets, dear. He is all worked up, ready to go home and mad at every single Healer for not letting him go. I am with him everyday for the better part of the day._

 _Maybe you can visit him this weekend. I do believe that Professor McGonagall would let you leave the afternoon for a hospital visit. Your father would love to see you as well.I apologize for this bad news on what should be a happy day. I do hope that you will still make it a day to remember. Your father loves and misses you and so do I. Write back soon._

 _Many hugs and kisses,_

 _Mum (and of course also dad)_

"James? James? What is wrong? Why is your face so white?" Remus was talking to him in an alarmed voice. James shook his head, unable to speak. So he just shoved the letter their way. Remus grabbed it, scanned over it and put his hand over his mouth. "What is it?" Sirius asked, trying to grab the letter. "Fleamont is in Sint Mungo's. He's got the Dragon Pox." Sirius eyes grew big. He finally got a hold on the letter, now reading it for himself, almost as if he was trying to read that it was all a joke or something. James didn't feel like food at all right now. This morning he had woken up with joy, he was so happy. He was finally thirteen. One year closer to becoming of age and doing magic outside of Hogwarts. But within an hour everything had changed. He knew the letter said his dad was fine, but still. If he was fine why wouldn't they let him go? Why would they keep him in the hospital? Was there something that his mum was not telling him? Or maybe that the Healers weren't telling his mum and dad?

James felt an hand on his shoulder. "Mr. Potter." He looked up. None of his friends would address him that way. And he was right, because it was Professor McGonagall. She looked at him with a small smile. "Could you maybe come with to my office?" James nodded. He stood up and gathered his presents. "Leave it, mate. We'll do that." Sirius said while he swapped James' hand away. James tried to smile at his best friend, but couldn't remember how. Something inside of him told him this was not right at all. He followed Professor McGonagall out of the Great Hall to her office.

When they entered her room he sat down in front of her desk. "Well, first I believe congratulations are in order. But I don't think you feel like celebrating right now." James made a move with his head that could mean several things. "I received a letter from your mother this morning with some dreadful news. And looking at the state of mind you are in right now, you received it as well already. I am terribly sorry about your father, James. But you must know that he is in good hands in Sint Mungo's. The fact that they acted so quickly helped him a lot." She paused for a moment. James finally made eye contact with her, only to see a sad look in her eyes. "I do not know if we can let you go and see him, Mr. Potter." James noticed how she said his first name a few second ago and now used his last name. "Believe me when I say that Professor Dumbledore and I want to let you visit, but the Ministry is very strict about these things. Especially since you're only thirteen years old."

It was like this news was finally hitting James. "So, you're telling me that my dad is in the hospital and I cannot even see him?" He said with a hoarse voice. McGonagall closed her eyes for one second. "I am afraid so. The Ministry does make exceptions, but only if it was a life or death situation, and this isn't one according to them. Your father is almost better. They are just waiting for the greenish tinge to go away. They see no reason why they should let you leave the castle." James couldn't believe what he was hearing. He felt a white, hot anger shooting up his throat. "That is bullshit! And you know it! I want to see my dad. I need to see him!" McGonagall looked at him through her spectacles. "I must ask you to calm down, Mr. Potter. Lower you voice." James furious right now. "How can I calm down? I get a letter on my birthday that says my dad is in the hospital. He is fine, but somehow he still needs to stay. Then I hear that I cannot see him at all due to my age. What is the point in keeping my voice down? I… I…" James voice started to break. He took a deep breath and tried to regain a little control. "Professor, listen to me." He continued after a few seconds, his voice already softer. "I need to see him. Something feels not right. Please, I am scared." James didn't mean to say that last part. He felt exposed. His cheeks reddened quickly and he stared down at his feet. It was true though, he did feel scared right now. But somehow it felt like he just gave McGonagall a look into his soul right now. Why was she not saying anything? Why was she so quiet? But then he heard her scrape her throat.

"Let me discuss it with Professor Dumbledore, James." Okay, James thought. Back to first name basis and the answer isn't a no. "I cannot promise you anything, okay? But I will do my best. I think I can make a strong case for you. Especially with the fact that if we don't let you go and see your father, you might find a way to do it by yourself with your accomplices." James shuffled his feet back and forth. He couldn't look McGonagall in the eye right now, because he knew he would betray himself. He was already thinking of ways to contact his father. Sneaking of the grounds with his broom and fly to London or try to create a Portkey. He was also making a list in his mind with teachers with fireplaces in their offices and how to get himself some Floo Powder. Because if they didn't let James go with permission, he sure as hell would go without it. this was his father they were talking about.

"I know by the look of you I am right. Which is not a crime at all, James. You are merely thinking about something that every single student, and probably teacher, would also consider. But before you do anything rash, let me speak to Professor Dumbledore first. I will dismiss you from class right now. You go back to the Common Room and stay there. I will be with you hopefully no later than lunch with an answer." She leaned on her desk to get closer to James. "Promise me that you will just wait there for now." James looked his professor in her eye. He saw that she meant it, she understood him and wanted this for him as well. He knew that McGonagall would try her best with Dumbledore and he just had to trust her. "I promise. I will wait for you." He said. But in his thoughts he added the following words: But only for now.


	29. Chapter 29 Second year adventures

James was on his way back to the Tower of Gryffindor. He was surprised by how calm he was and how clear his mind was. He was still worried about his dad, but somehow it was clear as a day that he would see his dad, one way or another. James arrived at the portrait and made his way through. He expected the Common Room to be empty due to the fact that everybody had class, but he found Sirius in one of the armchairs near the fire. Sirius turned around when he heard James come in and smiled mild at him. "Hey mate." He said while James took a seat next to him. "Hi. Why aren't you in class?" James asked him. Sirius shrugged. "Not feeling like it. You know what I think of Herbology. It is boring and stupid. Remus and Peter also wanted to skip, but we discussed that it is best to limit us to one person." Sirius would never skip class on his own to just sit around in the Common Room. He was to exposed to be caught just sitting there on his own. He also knew that Sirius was worried about James' father as well. Even though he never said it, he deeply cared for the Potters. James knew that Sirius knew that James knew this, so it was clear that neither one of them had to say anything to know what their true feelings were.

James appreciated the gesture a lot. Sirius was like a brother to him and both of them needed each other right now, even though James needed Sirius a little bit more right now than the other way around. For the next hour the two of them just sat there in silence. But at one point Sirius broke the silence. "So, you want to go tonight?" James looks at him. "You mean to go see my father?" Sirius nodded. "That is exactly what I mean. You didn't expect me to just sit here and wait for another letter to find out how he is doing." James couldn't help but smile. "I think great minds do think alike. The whole time I was in McGonagall her office I was trying to find out what the best way is to get to Sint Mungo's. Especially after she told me that there is a chance they won't let me go." Sirius made a sound with his tongue in disapproval. "Of course they won't let you go. Power-hungry teachers." This comment made James laugh. Sirius was so used hate someone right away who would use their power to say what someone can and cannot do. "Easy there, mate. McGonagall and Dumbledore would have let me go if they knew there was no way I would get in trouble with the Ministry." Sirius rolled his eyes. "That is what they want you to believe. They just blame the Ministry for this." James shook his head. "You think there is way more behind all of this then there really is. McGonagall is talking to Dumbledore about this. She is coming to soon to tell me weather Hogwarts will let me visit or not. And I already decided for myself that if they say no, I will find a way to see my father." Sirius said nothing for a few moments. "Okay, I was hoping you would say that. You wouldn't be the James I know without even considering going there behinds someone's back."

Just when James wanted to reply the portrait swung open and Professor McGonagall stepped into the Common Room. "Hello Mr. Potter." She nodded to James before she shifted her attention towards Sirius. "Mr. Black, I see you are not in class. But I am not surprised by this." She sat down and turned towards James. She probably decided that it was okay for now that Sirius was skipping class. "Well, Mr. Potter. I discussed it with the principal and he contacted the Ministry. Unfortunately they declined this request, due to the fact that your father isn't a life threatening situation." James felt his stomach drop. He nodded slowly while his mind was working at a fast pace to see how he could leave Hogwarts. It was better that he didn't maintain eye contact right now. He had the feeling McGonagall would be able to read his mind otherwise. "James, can you look me in the eyes right now." Professor McGonagall asked in a softer voice. Clearing his mind and hoping his gaze was neutral he looked up to her. "I am sorry this happened. Professor Dumbledore is also very sorry this happened and I want you to know that we don't agree with this decision. But there is nothing much we can do. We can't go against Ministry orders and they order that all students should always remain in the castle, unless noticed otherwise. This rule exists because of skipping on classes otherwise. Which the two of you are doing this very moment.

And there is only one thing I can do right now." She looked at them fondly, which James found weird. The things she was saying were usually told as stern and strict. She hasn't said it yet, but they could be in trouble for not being in class. Which would be weird, especially for James, since he had permission to gather his mind. James was waiting with a vague feeling to see where McGonagall was going with this. "And by that I mean, Mr. Potter and Mr. Black, that there is nothing left for me to do right now except to give the two of you detention." James saw how Sirius' his mouth fell down. He frowned while looking at her. "Detention?" Sirius said in disbelieve. "Why? What is this for kind of punishment?" McGonagall turned her head to him, but again she spoke in such a weird tone of voice.

"For skipping class today, of course. Wouldn't you like to know where your detention is and for how long this is?" James was so confused right now. First she gave him and Sirius detention and now she wanted them to guess what kind of detention. Had she gone mad? This was not like McGonagall, there had to be something. "Okayyy…" James said slowly. "Where do we need to go and at what hour?" McGonagall smiled. "I will see the both of you only tonight, in my office at seven o'clock. Right after dinner." Sirius was now shaking his head confused. This made no sense at all. McGonagall never did the detention herself, she always send them to Pringle or another teacher who needed help. And her office? What could possibly be done in her office for only night and starting at seven? Maybe they would need to clean it manually. That would take up a whole evening for sure!

James almost groaned out loud by this idea. Why did they get detention? He literally had permission to skip the lessons right now. Was she mad at the Ministry? Or maybe Dumbledore for not trying harder? Maybe she is taking her anger out on them. But letting them clean her office? Where nobody ever had detention. James couldn't imagine McGonagall being a mess. She always seemed so, so, well hold together. But who knew! Maybe even professor McGonagall is a messy person. Leaving ink everywhere. Eating in her office, without cleaning it. Owls flying in and out with letters and stuff. She probably had a fireplace too, where people would visit and leave dust and ashes everywhere.

And that was the moment when it hit James. A fireplace. In her office. That is why she was talking in such a weird way. If she wanted to give them detention, she was usually very uptight and stern. James could know, because he received many detentions from her already. But this time it she was almost fondly about this and nice. And James knew why now. She and Dumbledore would let him and Sirius visit St. Mungo's through the Floo Network, without the Ministry knowing it. It was very important that she didn't say it oud loud, for safety of course. What if somebody overheard them? james met McGonagall's eyes and he knew by her look he was right. So he nodded. "We will be there at seven, professor. Thank you." Sirius his head shot in James' direction, looking at him as if he was mentally ill right now. But seeing the look on James face he knew his friend had a plan, so he only squinted his eyes. "Well, I guess I will see you tonight then professor." McGonagall stood up. "I am happy to see that we all agree that this detention is indeed necessary and that it cannot wait until another evening. It has to be done tonight." James and Sirius nodded. "I will see you two at seven then." She turned around and walked to the portrait, but turned around before climbing the hole. "Could you two maybe do me a favor? Please go to class after lunch." She smiled at them while exiting the Common Room.

"Mate! What in Merlin's name was that? Why did you agree with her about this unfair punishment?" James rolled his eyes. "Because we don't have detention, you moron. Didn't you notice how she wasn't being her usual self when giving us this punishment? She wants us to come to her office, at seven, for only one night. Who has ever had a detention at her office? When is a detention at seven and not at eight or later? And since when is being punished for skipping class only one night?" James tried to make Sirius understand on his own. If James could make the connection, Sirius could do it too. He saw how several ideas were shooting through Sirius brain by the look on his face. James gave his friend one more hint. "I can tell you right now we don't have detention." But by the look on Sirius his face James didn't make it any clearer what would be going on tonight. He couldn't help but laugh at the puzzled look on his best friends face. "And now you're laughing at me, mate?" Sirius said semi-agitated. "You have apparently this weird, deeper connection with McGonagall. You can read her mind. When she says we have detention in this tone of voice it actually means no detention. Tell me what is going on. Why don't we have detention?" James smiled, feeling happy with the fact that he was seeing his father tonight. But he remembered that if it was safe to speak, McGonagall would have probably done that. James might have already said too much. "Let me write it down. I don't feel like saying this out loud." He grabbed his bag. Taking out his parchment, ink and quill he wrote down:

 _We are going to visit my father through the Floo Network. McGonagall is letting us use her fireplace. But it is against the Ministry decision, so nobody can know about this. We have to pretend to be in detention._

Sirius read along while James was writing. Once finished he nodded. "Understood!" He grinned. "Who knew McGonagall was such a bad ass, huh?" He looked impressed by this thought of her. And honestly, James felt the same way. She and Dumbledore went out of their way to make sure he could see him. He appreciated this. "Hey mate, I am sorry this happened. I am sure he is all right." Sirius comforting. James nodded. "Yeah, that is probably true. I am just happy I can see him." They looked each other in the eyes and the both understood. James knew that his father was starting to feel like Sirius' father as well. The situation back home became worse every time he was there. He knew that Sirius had a lot of support from Regulus, but still. It couldn't be easy feeling less loved by your parents because of the way you are and how you think.

Whenever Sirius arrived at the Potter Mansion after spending time first at home before leaving he was depressed. Not angry, or mad or violent. Just sad. He had a shallow look in his eyes. But after the first dinner, next to James and in front of Euphemia and Fleamont, he would already get some sparks back in his eyes. Sirius could be himself at their house. People were listening to him and even agreeing with him on stuff. But mostly he was treated as a part of the family. Helping with dinner, setting the table, cleaning up, playing games, getting presents. Just the idea of being accepted somewhere and having a place where could be himself was making him happier. Usually at the third day Sirius was out of his funk and enjoying his time. He was just trying to forget that he had another place that he was supposed to call home, but that didn't feel like one. And James knew that Sirius was able to forget this other place sometimes.

But why would Sirius call something like that a home? When he could also call James his house his home. His parents wouldn't probably mind if Sirius would come along for the whole summer. If having him over was too much, Sirius wouldn't mind staying at Hogwarts for the other holidays. James made a mental note of asking his parents about this whenever the moment was right. Probably not tonight, but maybe the next time he would see them.

XXX

That evening James and Sirius left straight after dinner to McGonagall's office. Sirius knocked on the door. "Come in!" They heard and they opened the door. "Right on time, the two of you. If you could please sit down in these chairs now." She pointed at two chairs in front of her desk. "You will see a quill and some parchment on my desk, one for each. Please write the following line five times: I shall not skip class for just relaxing in the Gryffindor Common Room."

James was confused. He was 100% sure this afternoon that McGonagall just said detention as a cover. Sirius looked between him and McGonagall, just as confused. Maybe James didn't get it right at all. Maybe McGonagall did give them actual detention. He looked at Sirius, shrugged his shoulders and sat down. Sirius followed him, but James could see that he was getting pissed off. He grabbed his quill and started writing. Dang it! He felt so stupid! He wasn't going to see his father at all tonight. If he only knew that he misinterpreted McGonagall. He would have already gone to his father this afternoon. Another five nights of writing lines about not skipping class would have been worth it.

James finished his fifth and last line. Sirius was already done, but his handwriting was done so fast it was hardly readable. Sirius sat in his chair, arms folded, ignoring McGonagall. James could tell he was really mad. McGonagall sat on the other side of the desk. She took the parchment, looked at it and nodded. "This look adequate. Now let's do this another couple of times." But instead of giving back the lines, she placed them in front of them. She winked at James and smiled. Pointing her wand at the door, she shot a nonverbal spell at the door. "Now that this is out the way, we can talk freely. But first things first. Let me copy this a couple of times." She took her wand, pointed it at the parchments and James saw that their lines were being added. She grabbed some new parchment and copied the other ones onto it. "Great! I think six each would do the trick. Now, leave your stuff here please and follow me. I know you know why you are here. The two of you will indeed go see your father at St. Mungo's tonight, Mr. Potter. But you are not leaving from here. I will take you to Professor Dumbledore's office, you will use his fireplace for this. It is safer than using mine. If the Ministry asks why my fireplace was used to visit St. Mungo's it would raise suspicion. But the headmaster himself wouldn't. He is very busy man with a lot of appointments, also outside of Hogwarts. So again, leave your bags here. And now, follow me please."

This was a lot of information for James. He quickly jumped to his feet and followed McGonagall out of her office. He looked at Sirius and both shrugged their shoulders. Going to the headmasters office, that was something unique. McGonagall walked in a fast pace through the corridors. "I asked both of you to come see me at seven. Most students will still be eating at this moment, so that gives us the opportunity to get you up to the headmasters office without anyone noticing you two. I locked my office for now and once you are on your way I will sit in there, waiting until it is time to pick you up." Soon they arrived at a big Gargoyle Corridor. "Pumpkin Pasty." McGonagall said and the Gargoyle stepped aside, showing them a staircase. "Come on, you two." Quickly they ascended the stairwell, reaching a big wooden door. McGonagall knocked, waited a few seconds and pushed it open. The three of them stepped inside and James his mouth dropped. The room was beautiful! It was large and round, a lot of windows, looking over the lake and the Forbidden Forest. The walls were filled with either books, instruments or paintings that were moving and looking at them. James assumed that they were the previous Headmasters of Hogwarts.

At that moment Dumbledore appeared out of nowhere. "Good evening, Mr. Potter. Mr. Black! I am sorry to see you under these kind of circumstances, but at least the two of you are in good health." Dumbledore looked straight at James, who became nervous by looking into his eyes. They were very blue. "I am sorry about your father. Luckily we arranged for the two of you to see him. Now, if you will follow me." James and Sirius quickly obeyed. They followed him to his fireplace. "I assume you both know how to use the Floo Network?" James and Sirius nodded. "Good. Once you arrive at St. Mungo's a Healer will wait for you. He will bring you to Mr. Potter his room. Mrs. Potter his there as well. Now listen carefully. You will have 1.5 hour to visit him. The Healer will pick you up, bring you back to the fireplace and you must return here. To come back to this fireplace you must address it as the following: Headmasters Office Hogwarts. Say it in this order as well. If you say Hogwarts first you might end up in another fireplace within this castle. But I am fully convinced that the two of you will make it work. After all, you have gotten yourself in quite some situations already throughout the past two years." James and Sirius both flushed red. They never realized that Dumbledore would also know about their punishments and shenanigans. "I see I am not wrong. But for now, please go. Go see your father and mother. I will see you back in 90 minutes."

Sirius grabbed some Floo Powder, stepped into the green flames and transported himself to the hospital. James took some Floo Powder from McGonagall, threw it into the flames, turning them green. Before stepping in he turned around. "Thank you for all of this!" He said. Dumbledore smiled and McGonagall nodded and that was good enough for him. James stepped into the green flames. "St. Mungo's!" James said clearly. And he felt the familiar feeling almost flying among fireplaces before stepping out into the of St. Mungo's. Sirius was already there, dusted off and all. Next to him stood a Healer with a dust brush, ready to use it on James. While the Healer was dusting him off, he felt a jolt in his stomach. He was about to see his father and mother!


	30. Chapter 30 Second year adventures

The healer brought James and Sirius to Fleamont's room. James drew a deep breath before entering. The room was big. There was a huge bed, a closet and a private bathroom. There were two comfortable chairs next to bed, in which Fleamont Potter was lying. At the sound of the opening door he perked up. "Hello son! I should have known that your mother informed you about all of this" He said, while pushing himself up on the pillows. James quickly stepped to his father, ready to hug him tightly. "Umpf! Be careful with your old man there, James." He said jokingly while returning the hug. "I am happy you're here and this also goes for you, Sirius." Sirius had only taken two steps into the room, standing a bit uneasy there. "It is my pleasure, Fleamont. How are you doing?" Fleamont smiled. "Quite good at the moment, luckily. There is no need to worry about me! But please, come closer. Let me hug you and then take a seat." Sirius blushed a little bit, but walked over. He put his arms around Fleamont and James could see that Sirius closed his eyes enjoying it.

Both James and Sirius took a seat next to the bed. "Where is mum?" James asks. "I would have thought she would be here." "Well, she is! She is just finishing up dinner in the cafeteria. She could be back any moment now." James nodded. "And how are you? How long do you have to stay here?" Fleamont was silent for a moment. "I am doing good. But I am afraid I am not done here yet." He looked a bit sad. "Are you still sick?" Sirius asked. "Because you do look really good. I didn't expect you to look like this, to be honest." James laughed out loud. "Yeah, I also thought it would be worse." Fleamont grinned. "You boys almost sound disappointed." He winked at them. "No, I don't have the Dragon Pox anymore. But due to my age they want to keep for at least three days. To see if the aftermath isn't worrying. If it was up to me, though, I would already be home. But you know your mother, she insists that I stay here." Fleamont mimics Euphemia. "The healers don't say this for no reason. There is no discussion, you are staying here until they give the green light."

At that moment the door opens and James heard a delightful squeak. "My boys!" Euphemia said, while quickly walking over to greet them. She hugged James tightly, while kissing him on his cheek. After that she did the same thing to Sirius, who's face was as red as James it had ever seen. "Have you been here long?" "No, mother! Maybe a minute or five. Father was just telling us he has to stay here." Euphemia looked at her husband, quite stern if you asked James. "Yes, the healers think that is best. The Dragon Pox might be out of his body by now, but we have no idea if has left any damages. Better safe than sorry." She added harsh. Fleamont kept his mouth wisely shut. "Those damn Dragon Pox won't get me down, that is for sure." Euphemia wove her wand and another chair appeared on the other side of the bed. "That is indeed the case, honey." She took his hand and smiled at him. "In three days you'll be back home eating your favorite chicken potpie again. But enough about this! James, dear! You are here with us, on your birthday. I am so sorry that these are circumstances!"

James shook his head. "Don't worry, mother. I am happy that you send a letter. Even if it was on my birthday. And to be honest, I also forgot about it today. I was just worried about dad, but now that I see him, I feel a lot better." Euphemia nodded. "Of course, love. And if I'd only knew that you'd come, I would have saved your presents and bring them." James smiled. "Only you could worry about gifts in moments like this. Don't worry, mother. I am happy to see you and dad, let's enjoy that now."  
The rest of the visit they were talking about school, work, the upcoming summer and Quidditch. And before James knew it the healer came back in to summon him and Sirius. "That was fast." He said disappointed. Both his parents looked sad, but smiled. "It is for the best, boys. Before you know it, you'll be back home. And the same goes for you, Sirius." Sirius nodded happily. "You will see me shortly after the summer starts." Both of them said their goodbyes and walked back with the healer. Neither of them said anything, both in their own thoughts.

The Floo Network took them back to Hogwarts. James stepped out the fireplace and was greeted by Dumbledore and McGonagall. "Forgive me for my curiosity, but, how is your father, Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore asked as soon as James was cleared of dust and ashes. Before he could answer, the flames turned green again. Sirius stepped out of the fireplace. "He is doing fine, thank you. They will keep him there for a few more days to make sure he is indeed healthy." Dumbledore nodded. "A wise decision. Don't overestimate yourself, especially when it comes to your health." He turned around to professor McGonagall. "Professor, if you would be so kind to escort James and Sirius back to your office and then to the Gryffindor Tower." McGonagall nodded. "Follow me now." Sirius and James said their goodbyes, but at the door James turned around. He sought eye contact with professor Dumbledore. "Thank you, sir." Dumbledore stood there, his eyes twinkling, and he nodded. James turned around and walked quickly after McGonagall and Sirius. They gathered their bags from her office and quickly walked to the tower. In front of the portrait McGonagall wished them a good night and left. "Asphodel." Sirius said and the portrait swung open. As soon as they were inside they searched for Remus and Peter. They found them sitting close the staircase, playing some Exploding Snaps.

It took them only 15 minutes to update Remus and Peter about the whole situation. Peter looked impressed. He whistled. "So Dumbledore sneaked you out of the castle! That is impressive!" Remus looked a little bit more reserved. "I am happy that you could see your dad. But what if the Ministry finds out?" James shrugged. "I don't think they will. But if they do, we will cross that bridge once we get there." The rest of the evening was spend with Exploding Snaps until almost everyone went to bed and the common room was almost empty. "Well, I guess that this would be as good as a time to give you your presents." Sirius said. James sighed deep. Once again he completely forgot that today was indeed his birthday. He felt tired. Worrying about his dad, the visit, a very long day with classes and now this. He was happy that his friends got him something, but he really just wanted to go to bed soon. While Sirius was going upstairs to get his presents, he secretly hoped that he didn't came back down with his invisibility cloak to roam around the castle.

When Sirius came down he had a big box with him. "Well, we had no idea that your father would get sick. But after everything we all think that you could use something fun." He hands James the box, that was quite heavy. He opened he lids and looked inside. It was stuffed with products from Zonko's. "Wow!" James was impressed. There were five Dungbombs, fanged frisbees and so much more. "Thank you guys! This is amazing!" Remus, Peter and Sirius smiled at him. "You deserve it mate. Go have some fun with this! Prank Pringle or annoy some Slytherins." Peter grinned. "Deal, mate!" James gave him a high-five. "I will use this for some greatness! But hey, guys, do you maybe mind if I go to bed? I am tired." Everybody shook their heads. "No problem at all, mate. Go get some rest!" James went upstairs. He placed the box under his poster-bed and changed into his PJ's. He laid his head down and within a minute he was asleep. A dreamless, deep, re-charging sleep.

XXX

At the end of the week James received another letter from his parents. Included in the small package was also some candy, which he gave to Peter. Now that Quidditch practices were over, James watched what he was eating. He opened the letter and read it thoroughly.

 _Our dearest James,_

 _I am happy to announce you that your father is back home since tonight. You will probably receive this letter the next morning, but I am writing it while your father is in the shower. He was happy to leave St. Mungo's and cannot wait until he returns to work. Luckily he listened to the advice to take tomorrow and this weekend off and start coming Monday._

 _I think the whole situation has scared your father a bit. Usually he is as stubborn as it can be, but now he didn't even argue when the healer said to take the weekend off. I am happy that he will be home, but I wish he would talk to me about it._

 _Once again, it was lovely to see you and also Sirius of course. If you see Professor McGonagall or Professor Dumbledore, please thank them for me and your father. Without them this would have never happened. We also miss Remus and Peter! Could you let them know they are more then welcome to stay at our house during the summer if they want to._

 _I included some candy as well, so please enjoy it. Don't worry about your father. He is healthy and back home. We are looking forward to see you once summer starts and we'll be waiting for you at Platform 9¾._

 _Take care of yourself, enjoy your last couple of weeks and know that we love you very much._

 _Many hugs and kisses,_

 _Mum and dad_

James smiled when he put the note down. "My dad is back home! he came back last night." Remus, Peter and Sirius all whooped and cheered. "That is great news! He must me happy to be in his own bed and house." Remus said while helping himself to some breakfast. James nodded. "I imagine him drinking his favorite fire whiskey while sitting in his favorite chair, watching my mother preparing his notes and managing his calendar." Peter chuckled. "What a life! Hopefully I have something like that too one day." Sirius clapped him on his shoulder. "I am sure you will! We just need to find a nice lass! How about maybe McGonagall or Pomfrey? I can see you sitting in a living room while one of them is doing your calendar!" The four of laughed quite hard.

XXX

The last couple of weeks flew by and before they knew it, they were taking their last exam. It was Potions ad it was quite difficult this time. They had to make a cure for boils and it was a tricky list of ingredients and steps. Every few minutes Peter sighed heavily. Remus was going through his notes and reciting the steps, hoping he would know them by heart. Sirius had is eyes closed and was mouthing the ingredients underneath his breath. James looked around. The Common Room was unusually quiet for the amount of people whom were present. Everybody was studying for their last exam, not trying to look out of the window. The weather was amazing, but being outside was no option. Gamekeeper Hagrid accidentally let some Nifflers loose and he didn't find all of them yet. Even though they were no danger for humans, they were still quite annoying. So everybody who needed to study either was in the Common Room or in the library.

"I think I can eat, sleep and breathe these instructions." Remus said while laying back in his chair. "I don't think my brains can absorb anymore information right now. "Why don't you quiz me?" James said, while passing him his book. "Ask me about the steps and the tricky parts." Remus nodded. "Okay, let me see." He was scanning the pages. "What is very important to do, after you added the 4 horned slugs in step 2?" James thought for a few seconds. "You take the cauldron off the fire before adding the next ingredient!" Remus nodded. "Correct. And what is the next step?" James was hesitant. Was it now time to add the porcupine quills or was it time to stir? "Eh, I am guessing this one. But I think you have to add two porcupine quills." Remus nodded again. "Again correct. Those are the most important steps." Remus asked a couple more questions about the ingredients and measurements before calling it a night.

"I am off to bed, blokes. My brain is fried!" Remus stood up and gathered his things. Peter was rubbing his eyes, trying to stay awake. "I want to join you, but I can't leave yet! I have the feeling I have to study more, that I don't know it yet." Sirius shook his head. "Bullocks! You do know it. I get it, you are stressed. But I am convinced that you will do fine tomorrow, so why don't we all go to bed now?" Peter looked at Sirius a bit taken back. After a couple of seconds he smiled. "Yeah, you're right. It won't do my result any good if I push myself to stay awake right now." Peter and Sirius both stood up. "You coming, James?" But James wasn't listening. Lily Evans had just walked in with her friends and they were looking for a table. "Hey Evans, over here!" James stood up and waved his arm. "This table is free!" Why did I do that in Merlins name? James asked himself. And his friends must have thought the same thing. They were looking at him like he just went mental. Lily said something to Marlene, they both giggled and walked to the table. "Hi everyone. Are you guys leaving?" Lily asked when she arrived. Remus nodded. "Well, us thee are off to bed for sure. But I don't know about James." He gave James a knowing look. "He just said something about wanting to study a bit more." Lily smiled at James. "That is a smart move, Potter. We will also be studying, maybe or half an hour to an hour. Thank you for letting us sit with you." James nodded, not really knowing what to say. "Sure thing." He turned towards his friends. "Guess I'll see you guys upstairs later then." The three of them grinned broadly while walking to the stairs. James was a 100% sure that they were talking about him once they were upstairs. About him and his stupid action of waving Lily Evans over.

"So, ready for tomorrow?" Alice asked, who had taken a seat next to James. James shrugged. "Yeah, I think so. I know all the steps and ingredients. So you would say I would pass, right?" Alice nodded. "U-hu, I think so. What more can you do? You're not allowed to make a potion outside of the classroom, so it's not like you can practice or something like that." "Exactly!" James said loudly. "We did it once in the class this year. I honestly had no idea they would ask this potion on our exam. if I knew I would've paid more attention." Marlene snickered. "Same here! Luckily we have Lily, our Potions Queen!" Lily's cheeks flushed red. "That is not true, I am not a Potion Queen." Mary rolled her eyes at this comment. "Nah-ah, yes you are! Slughorn adores you. Even if you screw up or you would make a complete different potion, he would still let you pass." Lily shook her head. "You keep saying that, but he isn't like that. Sure, he has a few favorites. But he would never let somebody pass who would screw up the whole assignment." James listened to the four girls arguing with each other. Lily was sitting in front of him and he was watching her and her movements. He could tell that when she was passionate about something or defending herself, she talked with a lot of hand motions. Her hair would wave a little bit left and right and her cheeks flushed a deep red, but that wasn't really noticeable. This color reminded James of his Quidditch robes. It made him happy.

"Fine!" Lily threw her hands up in the air. "I'll just say you three are right if it stops this discussion. I do want to study a little bit more before I go to bed." She grabbed her book and a parchment with some notes and started comparing these two. James grabbed his own book and started reading for probably the eleventh time about the side-effects of this potion when made wrongly. He got a creepy feeling with some of these side-effects. Vicious boils? What kind of effect was this? It was made for curing boils and if you didn't do it right, you would create even more boils. James was happy that the color and smell of a potion could tell if it was done right or not. What if you had to test it on someone? Where would you find someone with boils? Or who would want to get boils for a few minutes just to test this potion? You could end up with more boils that were probably also painfuller.

"Are you thinking about the boils?" Lily asked all of the sudden. James grimaced. "Is it that obvious?" "Well, I saw you shudder out of nowhere and when I watched you I saw your face screwing up. I know I had the same facial expression today, since I am a very vicious thinker. I see it in my head how something must look like. And those boils aren't looking pretty." James couldn't help but laugh. "I know, right? And one of the side-effects is even more boils. I was just thinking about how messed up that is." Lily shook her head. "It is! I didn't even think about that part yet. Can you imagine?" James and Lily had a conversation for a few minutes about weird potions. Both of them showing a few from the book and laughing about it. "This one gives you memory loss?" Lily was bend over the book, her hair hanging close to James his face. He could smell her shampoo and it smelled like roses. "What kind of memory loss?" James needed a few seconds to clear his head, it was full with a fog that smelled like roses and looked pinkish. He shook his head and shrugged. "I think it depends on how the long the potion sits. The shorter the time is between finishing the potion and taking some of it, the less you will forget. Maybe only what you had for breakfast that day. But taking after a couple of hours or maybe even days or weeks, who knows what you forget! And it says nowhere if you ever get your memory back."

Lily nodded slowly, looking impressed. "And this is something for first years? We never had it!" James confirmed this. "True! Remus says it's because students nicked some once they were done and were pulling pranks on other students. Pranks as putting it in their drink during dinner or breakfast. This created a lot of chaos. As soon as the teachers found out, they banned it until further notice." Lily was listening to James in awe. "Wow, okay. That is crazy! Why would you do something like that? That is an awful prank." James didn't agree with Lily. He thought it was quite funny and genius. Can you imagine giving a Slytherin this before an exam or a Quidditch match? They would totally ruin it! But James made the wise decision of keeping this opinion to himself. Instead he decided to go to bed. He had already yawned four times in the last two minutes. "Well, this was lovely, ladies. Thank you for studying with me! But I'm off to bed now. I wish you luck for the rest of the evening and I will see you four tomorrow. Goodnight!" The four of them wished him goodnight and James went up to his dorm. He couldn't help but smile the whole time about how well that conversation went. His couldn't shake the smile of his face, not even when he tried to fall asleep.


	31. Chapter 31 Second year adventures

It was the summer holiday and James was relaxing in his backyard, laying flat on the grass, enjoying the warm sunlight on his face. In just a few days Sirius, Remus and Peter would arrive to spend a big part of the summer holiday. They would even make a trip with his parents for two weeks, visiting some cities in England, Ireland and Scotland. Peter had been very excited; he never really went on a holiday before with his parents. This was mainly due to their lack of money and since the Potters had more than enough, they paid for everyone. Euphemia made sure that everyone's parents were well-informed, on board and not feeling guilty about anything. She persisted on visiting in person, so she was away for three nights last week. James thought back about when she returned from her last visit last night. Saving the worst for last, she choose to do Sirius his parents last. And that was quite a visit indeed.

James heard the door close and he quickly made his way down the stairs. He was very curious how his mother visit had been to the Black family. Euphemia hang her coat on the wall and smiled to James. "Hi darling!" She smiled, kissed him om his head and left for the living room. "Hi mum." James said while he followed her. "How did it go?" His mother thought for a few moments. "In the end the visit was fine, nothing major happened. But …" She sighed deeply. "No, it's fine. I said to myself not to say anything about it. I don't want to get myself worked up about anything I can't change anyway." She sat down in her favorite chair, next to the fireplace. "James, honey, could you maybe get your mother a firewhiskey?" James eyebrows shot up. His mother wanted a firewhiskey? Merlins beard, that must have been some visit. She rarely drank, let alone something this strong. "Of course, I will be right back." He made his way to the kitchen, getting his mother exactly what she asked for. "Thank you dear." She said when James handed her the drink. She took a big sip, swallowed it and her face got all screwed up. "Ughh!" She shivered a bit. "It will never taste good I guess." James blushed read. He had a memory back to a particular night back in his first year, when he and his friends; especially Sirius; had a little bit too much of this stuff. He didn't dislike the taste that much, it was just the morning after that he didn't like. And if his parents were to find out about this night, he would be grounded until Hogwarts starts again. He was, and now he agreed with this, way too young to drink at the moment.

His curiosity got the better of him. "So mum, what happened tonight?" "Ha, I would love to tell you everything. But I am afraid that I cannot contain my emotions and I might say something that I regret." Confused as James was, he tried to go over every single possibility in his head, but he had no idea what could have gone so poorly tonight? "And what if I promise that whatever you tell, it is between you and me? Will you tell me?" James held his breath. "Okay. But let us first fetch your dad, dear. I will only tell this once and after this I will try to forget about it." James nodded. "But mum, I don't know where he is. I will go get him." James stood up and returned to the hallway, running up the stairs to the master bedroom. He found his dad in the bathroom, watching himself getting shaved while telling the razor the instructions. About a minute later he was done. "Hi son." Fleamont said while dabbing his chin with a towel. "Thank you for waiting. What can I do for you?" "Well, mum is back from the Black family. But she doesn't want to tell what happened until you're there to. So I came to get you." Fleamont nodded, his eyes darkened a little. "I see. Well, let's go see your mother then. I am sure it will be some story."

Once they were seated in the living room, Fleamont lighted the fireplace. A warmth became over James, who curled up on the couch, watching his mother warily. Euphemia had already finished her firewhiskey, her cheeks were flushed and she seemed more relaxed. "So, what is the matter honey? If you start drinking firewhiskey something must have happened." Fleamont gave his wife a little stroke on her hand. "Oh my dear boys, when I left there I said to myself: don't speak about it. You got what you came for. Sirius can stay the rest of the holiday with us and they are fine with us taking him on the trip. But Fleamont, those people are horrible!" James saw how his mothers eye started to spit fire almost. "Just awful! The way they treat him, it is not okay. I almost couldn't bite my tongue. I wanted to take him with me and to never give him back." Fleamont took his wife's hand. "We already suspected that they were, err.., bad parents." He shot James a look. "Did you see something? Did they hit him? Or hurt him in another way?" Euphemia shook her head. "I didn't see anything like that and as far as I can tell from seeing Sirius they never laid a finger on him. No, this is not physical, this is mentally. They break him mentally soon, if they haven't already succeeded. He gets cut off, whenever he can say something they act like he says something outrageous, they favor his brother over him and above that all they make him feel like nothing at all." Fleamont frowned and Euphemia sighed, her lips trembling. "And he doesn't realize it yet, he is still aching for their approval, their love. And if I take a look at that woman that calls herself his mother, she will never give it to him. Do you know what the first thing is that she asked me?" She looked at Fleamont in disgust. "Your blood status?" He guessed. "No, but I bet that would be her second question. She asked which Hogwarts House I was placed in. A Hogwarts House, Fleamont. She is mental! What does that matter? It is just a House, it doesn't determine the person you become. That is all about your environment and upbringing for example. Something she is clearly doing poorly."

James had never seen his mother so worked up. He was touched, she cared so much about Sirius. "Did they gave you a hard time about him coming here and going on a trip with us?" He asked silently. Euphemia snorted. "As if! They practically asked if I couldn't take him already, like he was in their way. The poor child is usually up in his room, all alone for the best part of the day. And I would have done it, take him already, but they are still his parents. It is still the place he calls home now." Fleamont was still frowning. "This all sounds horrible. But I don't understand something quite yet. Was Sirius in his room or with you?" Euphemia gave a watery smile. "The poor dear was first in his room and their House-elf had to get him. When he entered with Sirius, he said: the disgraced son is here, just like you asked, mistress. Sirius sat down, quietly. It looked like he was used being talked to like this. Then I told them about our plans, the trip and keeping him until school starts, and she couldn't cared less. I think she was annoyed with me, when I told her that my House wasn't important and up for discussion.

Then she heaved her head and said that there was no way she was paying for this trip. Sirius got an certain amount of money for his birthday and that was it. He either spend it or saves it. When I asked her how much he got, she just blatantly ignored me. And then Sirius answered; he whispered an amount. And do you know how much he gets? 5 Galleons! For each birthday! That is outrageous." James felt a knot in his stomach. He had no idea how much his best friend got. He just knew that there were a few packages on his birthday and a envelope from his parents. He knew Sirius barely bought anything from the cart on the Hogwarts Express, but he did spend a lot of money on presents for him, Remus and Peter. And he barely had any, because his parents were hogging it. Somehow, James thought, he would help his friend.

"Is there any way we can just make sure he will be here every holiday? Or at least at Hogwarts? I don't want him to go back there either." Euphemia shrugged. "I don't know, maybe we can discuss it with Professor McGonagall? Or Sirius himself?" Fleamont nodded slowly. "Yeah, that sounds like a good plan. Let's just forget about it now, I can't bear to think about how Sirius must feel being at a place like that. We will make sure he has a good time when he gets here in a few days." With that note they closed this topic and started discussing what kind of things they wanted to do on their trip.

James opened his eyes, he was back on the grass. This memory of last night had been playing in his head over and over again. He felt quite guilty that he hadn't noticed how bad the situation was at Sirius his home. Sirius never talked about it, saying he was doing fine and managing. But clearly it was just a place that he had to call home because he grew up there. Nothing there must feel like home to him, James thought. His childhood had been so easy, filled with love and everything he had ever wanted. Money wasn't a problem, but neither was that for Sirius his family. So that didn't mean anything. Remus' family barely had any money and he had a great childhood, except from the fact that he had a fury little problem every month. His parents loved him and did anything for him. James felt so blessed for everything that his parents had done for him. There was food on the table, there was love, compliments and encouragement. But also rules and punishments, whenever the rules were broken. All in all: a good life.

James his thoughts were interrupted with his mother calling for him. "James, dinner!" James rushed inside, his stomach growling. He hadn't noticed how hungry he was, but then he remembered he had skipped lunch. He had slept in, woken up around noon and only ate a sandwich around one. His hunger made sense right now. "Look honey, it's your favorite!" Euphemia pointed at the table. There was a chicken, roasted to perfection, filled with stuffing and surrounded by potatoes and vegetables. "Wow, mum! We usually only eat this with Christmas or my birthday. What is going on?" James felt a little bit suspicious. Euphemia smiled and ruffled her sons hair. "Nothing! I just wanted to spoil you a bit. You have been so good lately. Your grades were astounding this year and it was quite rough with your fathers health at one point for you as well. Plus the fact that it all happened on your birthday, I just wanted you to enjoy everything a little bit more today." James felt warm on the inside. He hugged his mother and tried to tell her in it how much she meant to him, how thankful he was for everything. He held her for a couple of moments, longer than usual. Euphemia was stroking his hair, enjoying this moment. "Thank you mum, you're the best." "Hey, hey, hey! And what about your old man? You won't deprive him of a hug, would you now?" Fleamont stepped into the kitchen. James walked over to his father and gave him a hug too. "Of course, dad. You have no idea how happy I am that you are healthy!" Fleamont padded his son on his back. "The same goes for me! And this smells amazing! Your mother has outdone herself once again! It smells delicious, honey." He kissed his wife before he sat down on the head of the table.

Dinner was phenomenal! James was so stuffed at the end, he barely made it to the couch. When his father had lit the fireplace, James was so at peace he started to drift away. The feeling of being full with food and the nice warmth was too much for him. His mind was starting to drift off to his subconscious. He was excited for the upcoming year, finally able to go to Hogsmeade. There were extra classes he would attend this and Quidditch would start again soon. A lot to look forward to. His friends were here soon, so he wouldn't miss them anymore. Daydreaming about Hogwarts somehow another Gryffindor popped into his mind, smiling at him. Her red hair was warm, just like the fire in his living room and her smile made him feel at ease, like he had full stomach and was content. Somehow his stomach felt even fuller, but not with just food. "Hey son, what you are smiling about?" James heard his fathers voice coming from far. "You have this grin on your face and you look like you won a million Galleons." James was back in reality, no longer thinking of Lily Evans, but somehow could smell a hint of roses now. "Oh nothing." He said casually. "Just thinking about winning the Quidditch Cup!" Fleamont nodded proudly. "You sure did that, son! And this year again, I assume?" "Of course, father! We always give our 100%. That should be enough!"

XXX

A few days later it was the day that Remus, Peter and Sirius would finally arrive at the Potter mansion. Peter was the first one to arrive. He and his parents used the Floo Network. Fleamont and Euphemia had invited everyone's parents for an afternoon tea that day. But only Remus and Peter's parents had accepted. But James didn't had the idea that his parents were mourning the fact that the Blacks weren't coming. "Very nice to see you again, Mr. and Mrs. Pettigrew!" Fleamont extended his hand to Mr. Pettigrew, who shook it greatly. "The pleasure is all ours! Thank you again so much for letting Peter stay here. He is very excited!" Peter grinned at James, giving him a thumbs up. Euphemia and Mrs. Pettigrew gave each other two kisses on the cheek. "Please, take a seat. Take a seat! Tea will be served shortly, we are just waiting for the Lupin gathering." The Pettigrew's sat down, looking at ease. Mrs. Pettigrew was a small and quite chubby woman, but her face was very young. Her smile was brightly and it made you feel relaxed around her. Mr. Pettigrew was skinny, a bit taller, but already bold in some spots of his head. He slumped a little bit with his shoulders, but he looked like a guy you could have a laugh with. Their clothes were very normal. Just some jeans and a blouse for Mr. Pettigrew and a flowery dress for the Mrs.

The flames in the fireplace turned green again and the Remus stepped out with his parents. "Hi James! Hi Peter! Good to see you guys again!" He put down his trunk, stepping into the living room with his parents. "Good afternoon, Lyall! It is so good to see you again. I hope you are doing fine!" Fleamont was up on his feet again to welcome these new guests. Just as Euphemia and Hope were saying their hello's the flames colored green again. Sirius stepped out of the fire, his trunk in his hand. "Hi guys!" He said, happy to see his friends again. "How are you all doing?" But before anyone could answer Euphemia ushered them all deeper into the living room. "Come, come! Just take a seat and leave your stuff here. I will summon them to the rooms. Fleamont, dear, can you clean the carpet?" Fleamont nodded, whipped his wand around and all the ash and dust disappeared. "Thank you! I will go get the tea!" She levitated the tree trunks in front of her, out of the room and probably to the rooms. After a few minutes she came back with a large tray with a teapot, cups and a lot of food. She gently landed it on the table in front of the couches and chairs. The teapot rose up, just like the cups and it started filling them with tea. When they were full they slowly flew to everyone in the room. "Very good! Please, do feel free to take something." Everyone was eyeing the plate with the pastries, cake and cookies. "This all looks wonderful, Euphemia!" Mrs. Pettigrew said while helping herself to a slice of cake. Hope Lupin nodded. "I totally agree! And thank you and Fleamont for having us all for tea. Your house is lovely." Euphemia smiled. "Thank you, ladies. I will give you a tour after the tea. So you can also see where your boys are sleeping!" Everyone nodded.

The conversation quickly changed into the upcoming trip. Which cities were they going to visit? "Well, we were thinking about Newcastle, Edinburgh and Belfast or Dublin. But it will probably be Belfast! We will stay about three nights everywhere, enough time to explore these wonderful places." Fleamont explained to everyone in the room. "Newcastle is lovely this time a year!" Hope said. "We've been there together before we had Remus, but I suspect it might has changed a lot over the years." She put her hand on her husbands knee, smiling at him. "What a wonderful holiday that was, right?" Lyall nodded. "It was!" Remus was smiling. "I'm sure it will be amazing! But what about Edinburgh? The history in that city must be amazing! I can't wait to see the university there and the library." The three boys laughed out loud. It was typical Remus to think about seeing schools and visiting libraries in his holiday.

Another round of tea and tour of the mansion later, it was already time to go for the parents. They said their goodbyes to their sons. "And you behave, Peter! Listen to Mr. and Mrs. Potter and help as well with cooking and cleaning. I don't want to find out you misbehaved and misused their hospitality." Peter's father spoke very strict to his son. Fleamont clapped him on the shoulder. "Oh I am sure that we will have no problem with Peter, or anyone for that matter. They have never been anything but helpful and polite! It is a pleasure to have them here!" Mr. Pettigrew smiled at him. "Thank you, Fleamont. That is always nice to hear about your own child. But please, feel free to discipline him if you think so. It is more than generous of you two to take him in house for the upcoming weeks, let alone taking him on a trip." Hope Lupin was hugging her son tightly. "Send a letter after you come back, okay, dear? We can't wait to hear how you enjoyed yourself. Take care of yourself and be nice here." Remus nodded and said his goodbye to his parents. The Lupins stepped into the green flames and were gone within seconds. Half a minute later the Pettigrew's were on their way home as well. James looked around, to his friends. He grinned broadly. The holiday could finally start now!


End file.
